The Pitwar Publication

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 30

2011-05-05T12:25:00.000+01:00

Best Game Of All Time

I've spoken about many great games the past 30 days, many of which I consider some of the very best I've ever played. Due to this it's really hard to pick just one that I consider better than the rest. After much thought however, I've made my decision on what game will take this honour, that game is Metal Gear Solid 4.

As you will be well aware of reading my previous entries, I love the Metal Gear series. MGS4 bought closure to the tale of Snake and wrapped up the many stories spawning out of the series. It had references, some small, some huge to the previous games, it had twists and turns along the way and somehow made the often random and bizarre story make sense.

The gameplay of MGS stuck with what made the series so great but expanded on it. The main addition was the ability to blend into your surrondings better than ever with the aid of you new and improved sneaking suit. This allowed your body to blend into the same colour and texture of the wall or suface you body was up against. The action sequences were exciting, the boss battles interesting and the set pieces and cut scenes gripping.

The enemies in MGS4, particularly the bosses, were creative as ever and all had reference to characters from the previous 3 games. Also, allies you meet along the way were interesting and varied. They even manged to make the previously hated Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2 into a much loved bad ass.

There were moments in MGS4 where I was left open mouthed with how amazing the game I was playing was. There were moments I just didn't expect and when all was said and done I played it the whole way through again. No other game has made me do that and it really says something about how good MGS4 is.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is exactly what I want out of a video game and so much more. If your a fan of the series and haven't played MGS4 I suggest you do so right away. You will get so much from this game and hopefully you will consider it just as good as I do.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 29

2011-05-04T12:20:00.000+01:00

Worst Game Of All Time

I consider myself a fairly good judge of games and tend to spot a stinker from something decent. I also look at a fair few gaming websites which share similar opinions on games as I do, so if I am unsure about a new release, I trust them to point me in the right direction.

So with that said, I'm going to pick a game which I know gets a bad rap but is one I've never actually played, Superman on the N64.

I'm a huge Superman fan, I've been collecting the comics constantly since about 1992 and follow most things related to the Man Of Steel, Smallville being the exception. I've played most of the Superman games on the the consoles I've owned over the years and normally get at least some enjoyment out of them. However, the release of Superman on the N64 was met with such negativity I couldn't bring myself to buy it.

Looking at reviews online it's hard to find anyone saying anything good about this game. It had bad controls, looked horrible and was just not fun to play by all accounts.

Looking at the screenshots it appears the sky is pink! Why is that? Surely it's no harder to program the colour blue than it is pink? I admit I know nothing about making a game but surely getting the right colour for sky shouldn't be hard?

It's hard for me to say too much about this game having never played it but that really says something about it. For someone who buys, or at least has a look at all things Superman, his game on the N64 has to be my worst of all time because even I couldn't bring myself to play it.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 28

2011-05-03T12:24:00.000+01:00

Boss Or Villain Most Evil

I think the one character from a game that has made me swear more times than any other has to be Gill from Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike.

Gill is the end of game boss in Street Fighter 3 and is a royal pain in the arse to beat. The main reason for this is the fact that he can re-charge his health bar and the only way to stop him doing that is by hitting him as soon as he starts doing it. The problem with this is that as he is re-charging your character is pushed away from him making it frustratingly difficult to hit him. Combine that with the fact he is way stronger than any other character in the game and I'm sure you can see why he is such a chore to fight.

I've lost countless battles on Street Fighter 3 against Gill. Infact I'm positive I've lost way more fights against him that I've won and I'm by no means a bad Street Fighter player. The term cheap is an understatement when it comes to fighting Gill and I curse whoever thought giving him the re-charge ability.

Luckily Gill only appears in Street Fighter 3 and didn't rear his ugly blue and red face in the fantastic Street Fighter 4. I can only hope this remains for future SF games and I never have to go through the frustrations of trying to beat him again.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 27

2011-05-02T12:56:00.000+01:00

Favourite Game Based On A Movie, Comic, Book Or Cartoon

The easy answer for this one would be Batman Arkham Asylum but I already used that game for my favourite super hero game. So to avoid repeating myself, I'll pick something different, Ghostbusters on the PS3.

Being a child of the 80's I grew up on the Ghostbusters movie and cartoon series and loved them. Both movies easily appear in my top 5 films of all time so when news a of a new Ghostbusters video game broke featuring the voice talents of the original cast I was sold.

Now let's not beat around the bush here, it's the fact that this is an official Ghosbuters game including the voice talent of Bill Murray that makes me love this game. If it was under any other name with voices from unknown actors then I wouldn't have looked twice at it.

The game is a standard 3rd person action affair in which you take on the role of a new Ghostbuster recruit working alongside Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston to once again rid New York of ghosts. It features several nods to the movies as along with your favourite 'Busters the game also includes Slimer, the Stay Puf Marshmallow Man and every 30 somethings vehicle of choice, ECTO-1. You are also kitted out with all the ghostbusting equipment you need from proton packs, slime guns, PKE meters and some new toys to spice things up.

Ghostbusters The Video Game is a fun little adventure which will make any fan of the franchise smile and relive a few childhood moments. While not a classic game by any means, it worth a play.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 26

2011-05-01T12:37:00.001+01:00

Favourite Multiplayer Game

This generation of consoles has seen a boom in online multiplayer games with first person shooters ruling the roost. Games like Call Of Duty and Halo have a massive online community and I too am a part of this. The game I've recently put countless hours into and have enjoyed much more than the others in the same genre is Killzone 3.

The online aspect of Killzone 3 is just brilliant. The main thing that sets Killzone apart from games such as Call Of Duty is that rather than just having a set deathmatch or capture the flag mode, all the modes are included in one online match. When one team has won the bodycount mode (kill as many of the opposing team as you can), it will then change to a capture and defend mode. The team with the most wins out the variety of modes played at the end of the game wins.

Much like with other online FPS, you can upgrade your loadout to incorpoate different perks and weapons. Killzone has a range of classes to choose from to fit your style of play. If you want to be a run and gun style of player, it's best to choose the infiltrator class which offers you a range of impact weapons and a cloaking device so you appear as a member of your opposing team for a short period. If you like to be able to support your teammates by healing them, choose the medic class. There is a class for everyone.

I've been lucky enough to play Killzone 3 as part of a clan made of of members of the GamerDork forum which has made the game even more fun to play online. I really recommend playing Killzone 3 with friends if you can as it has been some of the best online gaming experiences I've ever had.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 25

2011-04-30T12:23:00.003+01:00

Favourite Internet Game

Now this entry will be a real letdown as I don't really play internet games. I've never been into the whole Facebook gaming phenomenon such as Farmville and Gangster Wars and would much rather play games on my consoles.

The only games I've ever really played on the internet are in the office at work where we are trying to beat each others top scores on games such as the paper plane throwing game.

In this game you hold your left mouse button down, move it in the direction you want to the plane to fly and release the button. The aim is to get your plane as far as possible across the screen.

Sorry this was such a rubbish entry but it's the best I could offer I'm afraid.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 24

2011-04-29T12:06:00.000+01:00

Favourite Platform Game

This is a tough one for me as there are many games I've played in recent years that can be classed as platform games but also have puzzle and adventure elements. Games like ICO and Prince of Persia fall under this banner.

When I think of platform games I go back to basics and it's games from systems such as the SNES and Megadrive that come to my mind when thinking of classic platformers. So, for my favourite platform game I'm going to go with one I spent many hours of my youth playing, Sonic The Hedgehog.

If you're reading this blog, I'm sure you're a video game fan, so from that I'm assuming you know who Sonic The Hedgehog is. For those who don't, well I refuse to believe there is anyone who has no clue who everyone's number one blue hedgehog is.

I spent hours and hours playing Sonic on my Megadrive. No matter how many times I completed it I constantly went back for more and still play it to this day as part of the Megardrive Collection on the PS3.

Sonic was the first platform game to have speed on your side. While Mario did run fairly fast, it was nothing compared to how quick Sonic moved across the stages in his games. The twists and turns you took as you raced across the various worlds was mind blowing.

It's such as shame that Sonic never quite managed to make the leap in the 3D realm like his rival Mario did. All the 3D Sonic games just haven't managed to capture what made the 2D versions on the Megadrive so special. I will however always have the memories.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 23

2011-04-28T12:03:00.000+01:00

Last Game You Downloaded

It's very rare that I download games, not because I don't want them, more to do with the fact there is always something out in shops I want to play more. Due to this I currently only have one downloaded game on my PS3, that's Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix.

As I'm sure you're aware from my earlier blog entries, I've been a huge fan of the Street Fighter series since first playing Street Fighter 2 back in the early 90's, so the news of a new and improved HD version was music to my ears.

The character models and backgrounds in HD Remix are all hand drawn by the fine folks at Udon who are responsible for the Street Fighter comic books. To put it bluntly, the game looks stunning.

The classic gameplay is all intact and is as much fun to play as it's ever been. To go inline with the single and multiplayer experience from the original SF2, HD Remix also includes an online mode for you to test your skills against players from all over the globe.

While I don't download that many games, HD Remix is one that I jumped at the chance to install on my hard drive.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 22

2011-04-27T12:18:00.000+01:00

Last Game You Bought

As it was my Birthday last week, I was given vouchers and money and bought myself a small stash of new games. Rather than discussing each one I bought I'll instead talk about the one I've so far put the most time into. This is also the newest release of the bunch, Portal 2.

The original Portal was released as part of The Orange Box which also featured Half Life 2, its expansions Episodes 1 and 2 and the online multiplayer shooter, Team Fortress 2. Portal however, was the highlight for me and the fact it was getting a sequel was fantastic news to me.

Portal is a puzzle game where you are given of series of rooms to escpae from. To aid you in your escape you're given a gun which shoots blue and orange portals on white walls. You walk in one portal and walk out of the other one. You use these portals to find your way out of the room, or test chambers as they are known, and into the next one.

Portal 2 expanded on the original game by adding more elements to make escaping the test chambers even more taxing. These range from lasers to activate different areas of the chamber, boxes for activating switches and fluids called gels. These gels are blue, orange and white in colour. The blue alows you to bounce into the air, the orange speeds you up and the white sticks on surroundings and enables you to put portals where you would previously have been unable to do so. Another new feature Portal 2 added was a co-op mode that can be played locally or online with a friend.

Portal 2 has a real charm to it and the characters involved in the game are fantasic. You play as the silent Chell who is being put through her paces by GLaDOS who is a robotic lifeform creating the test chambers in the Aperture Science Labs and making your life a misery. To make things a little more lighthearted as you run through the test chambers is your round robot companion Wheatley, voiced by the excellent Stephen Merchant. There is a twist involving these characters but I won't spoil that for anyone looking to play the game.

Portal 2 is just a fantastic game and a must for anyone looking to tax themselves and play something very, very different. There is only one game like Portal 2 and that's the original Portal.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 21

2011-04-26T12:34:00.003+01:00

A Favourite Character

I promise, I did try to think of a character to give a bit of variety to my blog, but I just couldn't bring myself to pick anyone other than Snake.

As I've previously said in my blog entries, I love the Metal Gear games, I own them all and have played them countless times. One of the reasons I love this series so much is due to the main character, Snake. To put it bluntly, Snake is a badass. In Metal Gear Solid 2 you get to see this in the sections you play as Raiden with Snake helping you from afar and kicking major arse along the way.

Even in Metal Gear Solid 4, where Snake is an aging version of himself, he still manages to be the coolest dude on the entire planet and show the world what a true hero is. Anyone who can rock that moustache deserves your admiration.

So here's to you Snake! While you may be retired (for now) the world will forever be in your debt.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 20

2011-04-25T12:30:00.004+01:00

A Game You've Played Countless Times

I mentioned a few games I've played over and over again already in my blog such as Streets Of Rage 2, Lumines, Street Fighter 2 and Super Mario World. So to avoid repeating myself about games I discussed before, I'm going to pick the Daddy of all rhythm games, Rock Band.

Rock Band was the first rhythm game to enable you to be able to play with your friends as, well a full rock band. The game utilises a plastic guitar, drum kit, microphone and in the third instalment a keyboard. You are given the task of hitting the correct coloured buttons or signing the correct lyrics as they appear on screen. Depending on the difficulty you choose, the harder the sequence of buttons you have to hit is and the speed that they appear is much, much faster.

The music selection in Rock Band is second to none. There is something in there for everyone whether you like rock, metal, indie, country or folk. For the more specialist fan there are also versions of Rock Band based on individual artists such as AC/DC, Green Day and my personal favourite of the entire series, The Beatles.

I own all of the Rock Band series on my PS3 and have put countless hours into all of them, A great feature they have is the ability to transfer the songs on to your hard drive so you can play the full Rock Band back catalogue from just one disc. As well as this there are almost 2000 songs at present that you can download for 99p each to add to your ever growing library.

Rock Band is the perfect party game and I've had to pull out all the instruments for groups of friends to play with on many occasions, It's fun for all the family and for all skill levels. I'm sure I will be putting in many more hours with my computer generated band and my plastic guitar in the future, rocking like only I can.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 19

2011-04-24T13:02:00.001+01:00

A Game That You Never Finished

I'm pretty good with my games, I tend to finish them at least to the very basic of levels, but one in recent memory that I've not yet finished is Bayonetta.

Bayonetta is a quite frankly mad action game in which you play the role of a rude and crude witch, named Bayonetta. The action is fast and frantic and you can use all manner of awesome looking powers to dispatch your enemies.

The game is glorious to look at and even if you're not playing, you will sit in awe at everything that is going on and struggle to keep up with it's fast pace. It really is a stunning game in everyway and so, so addictive. To master this game takes time but once you learn some of the countless combos you can become a pretty damn good player.

I got through the majority of Bayonetta quite quickly and was looking forward to playing it again as I had learnt many new ways to play and knew I could improve on my high scores on a second playthrough. Unfortunately for me however, my skills were not good enough to beat the final boss in the game.

The end boss is a giant god like creature who has all manner of attacks and is a pretty lengthy battle to end this amazing game. I however, cannot beat him no matter how many times I try. I've read FAQ's and watched videos of other people beating him, seemingly with ease, but I just can't do it.

After countless attempts I decided enoough was enough and Bayonetta has lived on the shelf ever since. One day I plan to go back and play the game from the start again and hopefully, be able to beat the final boss. Until then though, this is a game I've never been able to finish.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 18

2011-04-23T12:47:00.001+01:00

Best Wii Game

The Wii is a funny little console. There are countless games released on the system and the majority of great games are made by Nintendo themselves, the remainder seem to be just party based mini game collections with no real love or thought out into them.

The majority of games I've played on the Wii are the Nintendo franchise titles, and the best of these is Super Mario Galaxy.

Mario games are always excellent, I've loved them since I played Super Mario World on the SNES and have played most, if not all of the platform style adventures since.

Super Mario Galaxy takes the ever excellent platforming of previous Mario titles and spins it on it's head, literally. Each world is a little planet that you can run the full circumference of. At first this is quite disorientating but soon becomes second nature.

As with most Mario games, you can get through to the end with the minimum amount of levels completed but it's a true challenge to complete all the stages and collect everything that is on offer. Some of the levels are downright mean in how frustrating they can be but more often that not, its you, the player, who is at fault for messing them up. Whether it's a mistimed jump, not paying attention to the Goombas around you or just missing the point of the task at hand, you will find yourself playing certain levels over and over until you get it right.

Mario Galaxy is another fantastic step forward for the worlds favourite pulmber and a must for any Wii owner out there.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 17

2011-04-22T12:32:00.001+01:00

Best GameBoy Game

I'm going to go back to basics for what I consider the best GameBoy game to be, and that's Tetris.

Tetris is the Grandfather of all block stacking games and was owned by everyone who bought the original GameBoy due to it being bundled with the console.

As I'm sure you're aware, the aim of Tetris was to stack different shaped blocks, or Tetrominoes as they are known, and get a full horizontal line. Once you got a line it disapeared, the more lines you got at a time the higher your score. As you got more and more lines that game got faster and faster. It was game over when your blocks hit the top of the screen.

Tetris is without question one of the most addictive games of all time and this shows in the fact new versions are still being released to this very day. As well as that it spawned many, many similar sytle games such as Lumines, Columns and Puzzle Fighter just to name a few.

Tetris shows that it's quite often the most basic of concepts that make the best games.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 16

2011-04-21T12:00:00.001+01:00

Favourite Super Hero Game

I'm a huge comic book fan and due to this I've been suckered in and played numerous bad super hero video games. This has been a trend since I was very young with each system I owned having it's fair share of comic book related games and them all being bad. The less we talk about Superman on the N64 the better.

However, this horrible trend came to an end in 2009 with the release of Batman Arkham Asylum.

Finally a developer took a comic book license and treated it with the respect it deserves. Rather than putting a subpar game together and relying on the license to sell it, Rocksteady (the team behind Arkham Ayslum) managed to merge a great game, great story and perfect characterisation.

Arkham Asylum has the perfect mix of combo based combat, stealth sections akin to Metal Gear Solid and puzzle sequences. All these pieces fit together to make the game exactly what comic book fans have wanted for years.

The sequel, Arkahm City, is due out later this year and I for one can't wait. I would happily accept more of the same but I'm sure Rocksteady will move forward with the series and pull something fantastic out of the bag.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 15

2011-04-20T11:53:00.002+01:00

Best Xbox \ 360 Game

I've not played all that many games on the X-Box 360 but did spend a lot of time on the original X-Box. My favourite game on this system was Amped 2.

Amped 2 is a snowboarding game much in the same vain of the Tony Hawkes skateboarding series but with a more realistic edge. Unlike the Tony Hawkes games, in Amped all the tricks and stunts you perform can be done in real life. This was much more of a snowboarding sim rather than the more arcade style of games like Cool Boarders and SSX Tricky.

I'll be honest with you, I was quite frankly rubbish at Amped 2 but this never stopped me enjoying the game. I could pull off the most basic of tricks and scrape through by just getting the scores required to progress to the next stage. Even due to this however, I loved every minute of time I put into Amped. It was addictive, looked stunning for the time and was easy to play for 10 minutes or several hours at a time.

Amped 3 was released on the X-Box 360 at it's launch and I've only played the demo. Unfortunately it appeared that the series has now gone the more arcade route and doesn't seem to have the appeal that set it apart from it's peers. It's a real shame as too often these extreme sports game go into the fantasy realm whereas I would much rather play sim style such as Amped 2.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 14

2011-04-19T12:03:00.000+01:00

An Addictive Game

One of the most addictive games I own has to be Lumines on the PSP.

I bought this game not long after buying the PSP console and it has since been one of my most played games on Sonys' handheld.

Lumines follows the traditions of puzzlers such as Tetris and Columns in the way that the aim of the game is to stack blocks. Unlike Tetris where you have to create lines, in Lumines you have to create blocks of four squares that match in colour. While you're stacking blocks together, a vertical line passes across the screen at varying speeds and removes any blocks of four. Like most games such as this, if the blocks reach of the top of the screen, it's game over.

To go inline with the addictive gameplay, Lumines also features an excellent soundtrack and effects are added to the songs depending on the amount of blocks you clear at a time. Lumines 2 even features tracks from actual artists such as New Order and The Black Eyed Peas alongside the original compositions.

It's games like Lumines that are just so addictive due to the simplicity of the gameplay and due to this they remain timeless. Lumines also appeals to people of all ages due to it's accessibility.

The main thing that makes Lumines so addictive is the desire to want to improve on your previous high score. The further you get into the game, the more stages you unlock, the more songs you hear. It's such a great game and for me, a timeless classic.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 13

2011-04-18T12:37:00.000+01:00

Best Nintendo 64 Game

The obvious choice for many people would be Goldeneye and while that is a fantastic game it's not the game I spent countless hours on and still play to this day. The best N64 game in my eyes is WCW vs NWO Revenge.

Revenge was the followup to WCW vs NWO World Tour and is without question the very best wrestling game I've ever played. The control scheme is perfect with it's strikes and grapple moves varying in strength and type depending on how long you hold a button down and in what direction you press the D-pad.

The cast of characters is fantastic and comes from the time when WCW had all the early 90's big names and a plethora of new stars from all over the globe. If you want to play your dream match of Scot Hall vs Juventud Guerrera vs Raven vs AKI Man in a ladder match, then you can do just that.

Countless hours were spent playing this game on my own and even more with friends. This is the last game I remember playing with a group of mates that were in the same room. This was before online gaming and the frankly insocialble modern way of multiplayer action.

When wrestling games are released today, the reviews you read always mention whether or not fans of WCW Revenge and it's followups such as WWF No Mercy will enjoy the new yearly update. The one thing these new modern games have in common is they always fall short.

I long for the day that a new WWE games is as much fun to play as WCW Revenge and truth be told I can never see that day coming. For now my wrestling gaming will remain on the N64.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 12

2011-04-17T15:41:00.002+01:00

Favourite Action Game

This is another category where I could easily use one of the many Metal Gear games as my winner, but to be fair I can't keep talking about the same old games. So for this one I'm going to go with one of the newer franchises out there, Uncharted.

To be more specific I'm choosing Uncharted 2 which is easily one of the very best games I've played in the last few years. This is not down to just one thing but the entire package. The gameplay is top notch whether it be the platforming, the gun play, the puzzles, it all just clicks. The characters are some of the most likeable you will find in any video game. The relationship between the lead Drake and his partner Sully is so well written, you will feel like you have known both for years. The voiceover work for these characters is also a joy to listen to.

Then there is the look of the game which is just untouchable, it looks stunning from start to finish whether you are in the arctic, jungles or in museums. So much care and attention has been taken to make the game stand out from all others.

I consider Uncharted Sony's flagship title for the PS3 and look forward to the upcoming sequels on the PS3 and new handheld, the NGP. No other game in recent memory seems to tick every box the way Uncharted does and unlike many modern games, it has an instant replay factor.

If you needed any reason to own a PS3, then Uncharted 2 is just that.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 11

2011-04-16T14:00:00.001+01:00

Best PC Game

I've never been a PC gamer. We didn't have a PC at home until I was about 17 and by this point my mind was set that games were played on consoles, and to be able to play PC games to their fullest would require a large sum of money and expertise to upgrade your system. I had neither.

I can count on one hand the games I've played on the PC. They are Tie Fighter, X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, Duke Nukem, Theme Park and MDK. The only game out of these I put any sort of time into was MDK.

MDK was a 3rd person shooter where your character, by the name of Kurt, wears a special suit with a pointy helmet, and is given the task of rescusing earth from an alien invasion. As well as an asortment of guns your suit has an inbuilt parachute to help you not hurtle to your death in the games higher areas.

To be honest, while this is probably the PC game I've played the most, I didn't play it to the extent where I was close to finishing it. It was by no means a bad game, I just prefered playing on my consoles and didn't devote much time to MDK.

I wish I could write something more exciting for you to read about my PC gaming experiences, but truth be told I don't have any.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 10

2011-04-15T12:07:00.000+01:00

Favourite Simulation Game

I've never really been much of a fan of simulation games. While I've played Theme Park, Populous and Sim City a little bit, I haven't really invested time into them to be able to say if I like them or not. The only sim I've really put any time into was Jurassic Park Operation Genesis on the X-Box.

I love the Jurassic Park movies and this is due to a lifelong obsession with all things Dinosaur. I've always been fascinated that these amazing creatures once walked the same planet I now blog on. Due to this love I picked this game up purely due to it being part of the Jurassic Park franchise, not knowing if I would have any fun in actually playing the game.

The premise is simple enough. Hunt for amber, create Dinosaurs, build a park, open the park to the public, maintain said park and Dinosaurs and finally make a profit. Simple I'm sure you're saying to yourself, and in many ways you would be right.

I spent hours creating the perfect park, filling it will all types of attractions and a variety of Dinosaurs. It was perfect in every way, I was proud of my creation and opened it up to the public. The people who visted were in awe of the beasts they came to see but wanted more places to eat, more baloon rides, more things to do other than look at my genetically crafted T-Rex and Raptors. Being the wannabe John Hammond that I am I gave the public what they wanted, everything was fantastic!

But dear reader, all good things must come to an end. After hours and hours creating the perfect money making park, I forgot one thing, to maintain the fences that kept my Dinosaurs enclosed and the public safe. Needless to say, the fences came tumbling down, my Dinosaurs escaped, some ate my customers, others fell off a cliff to be extinct yet again. My empire was in ruins.

After all the hours I spent making my park and it ending up in true Jurassic Park fashion, total anarchy, I decided enough was enough and never played the Operation Genesis again.

That was my one and only indepth sim experience, and one I don't want to have ever again.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 9

2011-04-14T12:20:00.001+01:00

Best Playstation 2 Game

The PS2 is the console that made me the Sony fanboy that I am. There were so many great games on the PS2 it's hard to pick just one. Ico, Shadow Of The Colossus, Devil May Cry, Grand Theft Auto, Prince Of Persia, Katamari and Okami just to name a few. However, for the best PS2 game I have to go back to the series I unconditionaly love, Metal Gear Solid, and in this case Metal Gear Solid 3.

This is my favourite game in the MGS series. Taking place in the 60's you play as the original Snake in the depths of the jungle. To give too much away of this game would spoil it for anyone who is unfortunate enough to have not played it. Never has a game been so enjoyable to play, yet at the end have you left reeling from the twists and turns of the storyline.

Due to being set in the 60's, you don't have the wealth of gadgets you had in the first two games. This really adds to the way you play, relying even more than normal on the way you sneak around and take on the many enemies in your way.

It also has one of the best cast of characters in any game I've played. True to all Metal Gear games it has some of the coolest and most random bad guys you can think of. Again, I don't want to say too much about these guys and ruin it for anyone who hasn't played it. All I will say is Boss is quite frankly one of the greatest characters in a video game and the emotional attachment you have with her by the end is outstanding.

If you own or have access to a PS2 and haven't played Metal Gear Solid 3 I urge you to do so as soon as possible. It's one of, if not the greatest game I've ever played.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 8

2011-04-13T12:30:00.002+01:00

A Game You're Currently Playing

So far this year I've played a ton of great games like Vanquish, Enslaved, Little Big Planet 2 and Killzone 3. But the game I'm currently playing is Motorstorm Apocalypse.

The first Motorstorm game was a launch title for the PS3 and as I got my PS3 at launch, was one of the games I got with the console. It blew me away and was my most played game on my new machine. The destruction you could cause to yourself and other drivers, the variety of vehicles and the stunning looks of the game were awe inspiring to me and I'd never had so much fun playing a racing game.

A couple of years later came Motorstorm Pacific Rift which changed the desert setting of the first game to a tropical paradise and I loved this game even more than the first. A short while later a PSP version was released called Arctic Edge which set the game, funnily enough, in the Arctic. Even with the limitations of the PSP I was again loving the concept and the gameplay. This too is one of my most played PSP games.

This brings us up to date when last week I purchased the most recent version of Motorstorm, dubbed Apocalypse. This latest game in the series is the most adventurous yet with the setting being a crumbling almost empty city which is being ravaged by earthquakes and typhoons.

As you race the scenery is falling apart around you and with each lap changing the race conditions and where you can and can't drive. This adds to the intensity of the racing by making sure you always keep on your toes as you never know what may happen in a split second.

The thing I love about the Motorstorm series is with each game the developers are pushing the franchise forward, never scared to experiement with settings and being as creative as possible with the surrounds they have chosen to use. With no game standing out that I want to pick up for the next few months, I can see my time being spent racing through the nature torn streets of Motorstorm Apocalypse.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 7

2011-04-12T12:20:00.001+01:00

Best Playstation 1 Game

This has to go to none other than Metal Gear Solid.

Metal Gear Solid got me into what I consider modern gaming. Before this came along I was still sticking to what I knew with platformers and beat em ups, MGS turned all this on it's head.

I'd never played a game like it, the sneaking aspect, the combat, Snake and the cast of wild characters and the gripping and every so crazy storyline, everything just clicked with me. Metal Gear Solid changed the way I played and looked at games and I've not looked back since.

Being the Sony fanboy I am I own every Metal Gear game on all of their available consoles, even the rereleases of 2 and 3 with the extra content. I've played every game in the series, most on several occasions and I have an undying love for the lot. This is all thanks to Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 and I'm forever grateful for the way it made me look at games in a totally different way.

If I had to pick one series of games to play for the rest of my life it would be a toss up between Metal Gear and Street Fighter. It would depend what day you asked me as to which series I would choose. Today though, Snake rules!

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 6

2011-04-11T12:17:00.001+01:00

A Game Of Your Childhood

The Dizzy series would have been the obvious choice for this one but that's already been covered. So I guess I'm going to have to pick another C64 classic, Booty.

Booty is one of the first games I ever remember playing and I'm pretty sure my parents bought this when they bought the C64. The aim of the game was to collect treasure and find different colour keys to get you through the corresponding colour doors to advance in the game. All the while you had to avoid being killed by rats and pirates.

The game was very basic in it's approach but also very hard. Due to not being able to kill the enemies and the fact that you had to try and remember where each door was after finding the right key, it could become very tiresome and frustrating. Even due to this though I spent countless hours playing Booty but to my shame never actually finished it.

The above screen shot sums up every screen you see in the game so it's not really worth me posting any others, so here is the ever so impressive title screen.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 5

2011-04-08T12:22:00.001+01:00

Best Megadrive Game

No thought had to go into this one at all, without question it's the side scrolling fighting game Streets Of Rage 2.

I love this game and dread to think how many hours I've spent playing it over the years. I've never gotten bored of fighting my way through the gang filled streets (of rage) and still play it to this day.

I didn't actually own Streets Of Rage 2 back when the Megadrive was my main console but I rented it from Blockbusters so many times I'm sure I could have bought multiple copies with the amount I spent on rentals. It's only in the past couple of years that I've actually owned a copy via the Megadrive Collection on the PS3 and I'm not ashamed to admit the only reason I bought said collection was to play this game.

No other game sums up the 90's for me like Streets Of Rage. There were so many games like this such as Final Fight and Maximum Carnage (another game countless hours were spent on) but SOR2 stood head and shoulders above them all.

The playable characters of Axel, Blaze, Max and Skate were all varied enough to give a different feel depending on who you were playing as. To go along with this there was an excellent assortment of enemies and settings. And finally the moves were all simple enough to perform and looked really cool to a 13 year old me.

This will forever be one of my all time favourite games and I know I will play it time and time again in the coming years.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 4

2011-04-07T12:37:00.001+01:00

Favourite Adventure Game

I'm going to cheat slightly with this one but it's my blog so I can get away with things like this. Rather than picking just one game as my favourite adventure title, I'm going to pick a series, the Dizzy series of games.

The Dizzy franchise were the first series of games that hooked me. I had them all on the C64 and played them over and over again. They were basic in their approach and you could solve the puzzles by just using your common sense but at the same time they were so addictive. Oh, and Dizzy and his friends were eggs, what else?!

The basis behind the Dizzy games was to use objects you find around the worlds and use them to advance the story of you and your fellow egg based friends, the Yolkfolk.

For example, you would start a game locked in a room with a pile of logs blocking a door and items such as matches and a jug of water for you to pick up and use. To get out of the room you would need to use the matches to set the logs on fire and use the water to put out said fire, simple!

One of the main challenges was keeping the items you need to further the quest at your disposal as you could only carry three items at a time. After a great deal of trial and error you eventually got further and further through the main themed games. There was Magic Land, Fantasy World and Treasure Island just to name a few.

Other genres span off from the standard adventures such as Pac-Man style games like Kwik-Snax and Fast Food Dizzy, Tetris esc puzzle games like Dizzy Panic and an underwater platformer called Bubble Dizzy. But it was the adventure games that got me hooked and while my friends had Mario as their 80's gaming mascot, I had Dizzy.

The last Dizzy game was released back in 1992 and was Crystal Kingdom Dizzy. Since then the franchise has been shelfed and our eggy hero looks to be no more. It's a shame but to be honest I don't see how Dizzy would fit in today's 3D world, myabe it's better to have the memories.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 3

2011-04-05T12:39:00.001+01:00

Best Super Nintendo Game

While Street Fighter 2 is one of my all time favourite games, I didn't own this on the SNES so its not going to win today's award. That will infact go to what I'm sure is a common favourite with many people, Super Mario World.

Without question Super Mario World in my favourite of the whole Mario series and I've played it countless times since getting it back in the day on my SNES. Still to this day I go back to it and enjoy it just as much as I did all those years ago.

The one thing that stands out with Super Mario World is that it's one of the few games I always want to do everything in. Sure you can complete the game by ploughing through the standard numkber of levels but I will always complete all 96 to get everything the game has to offer.

While never being punishing, the game has sections that are a challenge and as always with Mario, timing is the key to get through the levels with the maximum number of lives, power-ups and coins.

In a gaming world full of intense, adult themed games, it's always nice to go back and play something this good from my teenage years that's totally innocent and so rewarding.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 2

2011-04-02T22:14:00.002+01:00

Favourite Fight Game

The nod for this has to go to Street Fighter 2. While I've played Street Fighter 4 and the Alpha series just as much if not more than the initial sequel, it's SF2 that got me into fighting games and more specifically those made by Capcom.

My first intro to Street Fighter 2 was the C64 port which as you can imagine wasn't the greatest version known to man. Around the same time however I had a tips video for the SNES version and even though I didn't own this version of the game or even the system to play it on, I watched this tape over and over again. This just made me want to play this awesome fighting game in all it's console glory and thankfully a year or so later, I was given the Megadrive version for Christmas.

I played this game to death, so much so that other games I got that Christmas such as Earthworm Jim must have felt pretty left out sat on the shelf being unplayed.

This started a trend with me where I had to play every tweaked version, every sequel, every game even slightly resembling Street Fighter. To this day I still play 2D fighting games with as much love as I always did and I really can't see this changing. To truly master these games is something not overly easy to do and I hope I never quite get there. I always want to be able to improve and enjoy Capcoms fighters for as long as possible.

Not only do I consider Street Fighter 2 and its countless sequels my favourite fighting franchise, I consider it one of my all time favourite gaming franchises.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 1

2011-04-01T11:52:00.014+01:00

First Game You Finished

This was a hard one for me as I've been gaming for as long as I can remember and it's taken a good bit of thinking to remember the first game I finished. While I can't be 100% certain, this one stands out to me as being the game that takes that mantle:

I distinctly remember buying this game on holiday with my parents in Southend and being slightly disapointed when loading it up for the first time and discovering it wasn't quite the game I hoped it would be. I was expecting to be able to control He-Man while killing bad guys with the Sword of Eternia. Instead what I got was something more inline with the choose your own adventure books that were popular at the time.

To move forward in the game you had to read the text that appeared on the screen and type a command. These commands ranged from "examine" to "get" to "E" to go East. By typing in the right command the game moved forward, by typing the wrong command you either stayed where you were or the game would come to an end.

To complete this game I remember my parents helping me out by us making a list of the right commands to make so if I did fail at a certain point, we would be able to make a note of what not to do next time. I guess this is cheating in a way but I was fairly young and would never remember everything I needed to do each time I played.

So even though I had my primitive FAQ and cheated slightly, The Masters Of The Universe Super Adventure was the first game I ever finished. What an achievement!

My Fight Moneeeeeeeeeey!

2010-05-02T13:32:00.005+01:00

I have a long standing love for the Street Fighter series of games dating back to the release of Street Fighter 2 in the early nineties. I still remember the excitiment of Christmas morning 1994 and opening a Meadrive game shaped present to find Special Championship Edition inside. This was the start of the obsession.

I remember playing this game daily, at every chance I had. I made sure to get the six button pad for my Megadrive just so I could play the game to its fullest potential. Like most people when they first start playing SF games I became a master with Ryu, as I came more confident with the game I pushed myself and mastered Vega which is no easy feet I may add!

A friend of mine got Super Street Fighter 2 and the mastery carried on. This was the first game to feature Bruce Lee rip off Fei Long and he has been a firm favourite of mine since.

With the advent of new games consoles of course bought with it new Street Fighter games. The Alpha series being the one that really stands out for me. I still have all 3 for my PS1 and do go back to them on occasion, they just rule! This is where my other main character of choice made his SF debut, Guy, previously seen in the excellent Final Fight, which you may or may not know was originaly developed as the follow up to SF2.

I haven't stopped playing SF games since. From SF2, through the Alphas, to the versions of SF3 on the Dreamcast and trying my best to ignore the EX series. Spin off such as the Capcom vs range featuring the likes of Marvel super heroes and SNK's best. Even other fighting games made by Capcom such as Rival Schoools have that SF magic and have not been ignore by me.

After a period of SF games only really appealing to the hardcore, Capcom seemed to put the franchise on the back burner and concentrate on next gen titles such as the Resident Evil and Devil May Cry series. That was until the annoucement of Street Fighter 4. This was music to my ears. With the gaming systems being capable of what they are these days the prospect of a SF game using this technology peaked my interest.

Last year saw the launch of Street Fighter 4 on the PS3 and I was there day of release to pick it up. It blew me away and is still one of two games I consider my favourite of all time, its changes seemingly on my mood with Metal Gear Solid 4.

SF4 seemed to take me over just like SF2 did all those years before. I invested in a fightstick to get the most from the game and be the best player I could be. Sadly it seems even nearly two decades of play have not prepared me for some of the players online. There are some amazing players out there who have clearly devoted even more of their spare time to the games than I have. The beauty of SF4 though is that being beaten on a regular basis does not put you off playing, it just makes you strive to be better.

So this brings us up to date. This past Fridaty saw the release of Super Street Fighter 4 featuring balance tweeks, new modes and 10 new fighters to the SF4 game. One of these being Guy last seen in the Alpha series and my character of choice.

If the blog updates have seemed slow this year (and they have been) then expect then to be even more few and far between as I can see myself becoming slightly addicted yet again.

Oh DC, What Went Wrong?

2010-02-19T22:30:00.007Z

I stumbled across a friends old blog today which containted some posts from 2006. What I noticed was how enthusiastic I was about the comics I was reading at the time.

In 2006 I was spending on average £70 per month on comic books and was picking up all the big DC titles with the exception of the Bat books. This was a time where DC could do no wrong with the build to Infinite Crisis in full swing. It's very easy to see why I was buying so much and at the same time enjoying everything I was reading.

Four years later and we are in 2010 and my monthly comics come to around £15. I buy the core Superman books, Supergirl, Adventure Comics and Flash (when it comes out). Had you told me this back in 2006 I would not have believed you.

It's not that I'm less interested in comics these days, I still love them when they are done well but that seems to be something hard to find. I will always buy the core Superman titles but they have been a very hard read in recent times. When I'm buying Superman comics I tend to like him to feature in them. This is something that hasn't been happening the past 12 months.

It's just so sad how DC had the comic world at it's finger tips 4 years ago and have managed to drop the ball so much where even the most die hard fan such as myself has basically given up on them. I could buy stuff from other publishers but I don't really have the interest in the characters or the funds to buy too many more comics than I do.

All I can do is stick with the stuff I get and hope the bad turns good. At least I have Geoff Johns and his work on Superman Secret Origins and Flash Rebirth to remind me that my favourite characters can be written well. If he leaves the books I read however I will be in trouble.

My Super Obsession

2010-01-20T23:34:00.004Z

For those who know me know I'm a massive Superman fan, for those who don't know me you now now I'm a massive Superman fan.

I was once asked why Superman is my favourite comic character and to be honest, I had a bit of trouble answering it, it wasn't something I had ever thought of. Its not that there wasn't a reason, there are plenty so here goes.

Firstly some history. I started buying Superman comics on a regular basis in early 1992. I had been collecting comics for a couple of years before this and other than The Hulk for about 7 months, I had never gotten a comic based on one character each and every month. I was just picking up what looked cool in the shop no matter the character. I was still finding my way through the come world and had yet to really get a connection with one character. One day I decided to pick up a couple of issues of Superman that were on the shelf and really enjoyed it. I had past experience with Superman through the movies, cartoons and British reprints like most kids my age but had never gone further than that.

Unbeknownst to me, DC had plans to kill off the Man of Steel about 2 months after I bought my first issue. In my mine this was cool, I had started buying Superman on a regular basis and was being given a massive storyline to follow which taught me a lot about the character. When Superman died the characters looked back at his life and what he meant to them. They showed Superman to be this iconic character who would use his amazing abilities to help the people of his adoptive world.

Unlike what was said in Kill Bill, Superman is the disguise, Clark Kent is who his adoptive parents bought him up as. Yes he had amazing powers and abilities but he still had the never ending struggle of finding who he was and his place in the world. Clark is a mild mannered guy and has a lot of the flaws we all have. He has problems with the opposite sex, problems at work and can be clumsy. You can relate to Clark, he is a good guy doing his best to survive in the world and make the most of each day. The Superman part of Clark is a way he can do his best to make the world he lives in a better place for the people who embraced him.

There are many people in the real world with power of some kind, I'm not talking super powers but power all the same that can make the world a better place, some use it for that and others are very driven to do what's best for them. Superman is the former, he has tremendous power and uses it to help and set an example that this world can be a great place to live in, you just need to share what you have and everyone becomes better off.

Superman to me is an icon, he is a shining beacon that through all the crap in the world there is still hope and things can be changed. We don't have superpowers but we can make a difference, to me that's what Superman is trying to teach us. Everyone needs someone to look up to and learn from and if a kid picks up a Superman comic then they are getting just that.

There is a hero in all of us and Superman has shown that. Clark Kent was bought up the same way we are, he just happened to have super powers, you don't need them to be a hero!

Last Years Gaming

2010-01-20T19:42:00.011Z

As a new year has just started I thought I would look back on 2009 and the video games that came out that year. Some truly brilliant stuff was released and my PS3 was played pretty much daily throughout the year. So without further ado lets look at some of my gaming highlights.

Uncharted 2

This is without question my game of the year. Uncharted 2 took what was already an amazing experience from the first game and turned the volume up to eleven. Drake and the cast of characters were all as likeable as ever, the story was interesting, the level design was fantastic and the whole look of the game was jaw dropping. Uncharted is flawless and it's only a matter of time before I give this another play through.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

When you hear about games based on comic book or movies they tend to end up being majorly disappointing with the developers seemingly hoping they can get by on the license alone. This was not the case with Arkham Asylum. The relatively unknown development team of Rocksteady hit the ball out the park with this. They totally nailed the characters, the look and feel of Arkham and paid fitting tribute to the source material. The gameplay itself was engaging with the combat in particular being executed amazingly. Really looking forward to the sequel that is due later this year.

Street Fighter 4

I've loved Street Fighter games since first seeing SF2 on the SNES all those years ago. Since then I have bought and played every release to death. They are the perfect example of how to make a fighting game. They are easy for new players to pick up and enjoy but also deep for us longtime hardcore fans. SF4 was a rebirth for the series and is without question my most played game of 2009. While I'm far from the best SF player out there and have may fair share of loses online it never puts me off playing and I always come back for more, learning from my mistakes. With the Super version of this game being released this year it certainly seems like the sound of dragon punches will be ringing in my living room.

Assassins Creed 2

I had high hopes for the first Assassins Creed but it fell short. The ideas were there, it just lacked that certain something to keep me interested. With that in mind I picked up the sequel hoping that the issues from the first would have been ironed out, and they were. While still not stunning it certainly was the game the first should and could have been. This is only one of two games I have 100% of trophies in so it must have done something right.

Modern Warfare 2

Can't really make a list of games of 2009 and ignore this one. While the single player campaign was from far enthralling that's not really the reason I bought the game. The multiplayer aspect as expected is brilliant, this behind Street Fighter 4 has made my broadband subscription worthwhile and will be played to death much like earlier COD games up until the next instalment.

And Lets Not Forget . . .

There were also many other games that I played and enjoyed throughout 2009. Games such as Infamous, Beatles Rock Band, Killzone 2 and UFC Undisputed have all had regular play over the year and are certainly games I will go back to in the future. It really was a great year for gaming.

Let The Music Play

2010-01-20T12:54:00.001Z

One of my major and not so geeky passions is my love of music. To say my music taste is broad is an understatement. Indie is my major passion but I'm also a big fan of rock, metal, a bit of country and even some good old pop. I'm not ashamed to say I think Take That are a British institution and think Rule The World is a belter!

My parents are both big music buffs and this rubbed of on me from a young age. Some of my earliest memories are of me playing with my toys while my folks were playing music. So much so that whenever I hear I Want To Break Free by Queen I always get an image of me surrounded by my He-Man figures in the front room.

I still have the first record I ever bought and some say that this is the one that shapes where your tastes will go throughout your life. How Rat Rapping by Roland Rat got me to where I am today I don't know but we all have to start somewhere.

So where did it all start with me? Well my Mum was and still is a fan of rock music from the 60's to present day and I remember us playing on the C64 with the radio on listening to the Friday Night Rock Show and Pick Of The Pops on Radio 2. This influenced me greatly and is totally responsible for the music tastes I have today.

Growing up in the 80's meant the music being played on the radio was all synth and pop which I have an undying love for yet didn't really know of the many other things that were out there. This is where The Rock Show came in. This was my first exposure to bands such as Def Leppard, KISS, Whitesnake, Little Angels, Gun and most importantly Poison.

Poison are without question my favourite band of all time. Now I know they are not the greatest musicians in the world and Talk Dirty To Me is hardly an award winning masterpiece but they clicked with me. From the high energy sound, to the over the top flamboyant look, to the crazy videos I was hooked as soon as I saw and heard them. They were the first band I had to have everything by, and to this day I get excited by the news of a new Poison release.

This was my introduction to the world of heavy rock and metal and served as the soundtrack to school years. As well as the fun hair metal bands like Poison and Motley Crue I found out about metal gods like Iron Maiden and Megadeth. As I grew older grunge exploded and I instantly fell in love with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden.

The 90's also featured the birth of Brit Pop which took me back to bands my Mum played such as The Beatles and The Kinks. Again, this stuff clicked with me and I became a huge Oasis fan and listened to all manner of other indie bands like Echobelly, Elastica, Cast and Blur.

Then there is Prince. The man is a genius and I will buy anything he releases. While some of the newer stuff can't compete with the likes of Purple Rain or Sign O' The Times he still writes and performs some amazing stuff. I like the fact that while not everything he does will be spot on these days he at least tries something new and tries to move forward. You have to respect that by someone who got it so right and could stick to what works.

While I still love the rock and metal I grew up with indie is the genre that has stayed with me over the years. There is so much good stuff out there and a day doesn't seem to go by without me finding something new to download and listen to (thank you Last FM).

My iPhone is full of music, ranging from the old and trusted favourites like Oasis and The Beatles to lesser known but equally great bands like Fink and Bon Iver. Not a day goes by where I don't listen to something and so many songs take me back to different periods of my life, both good and bad. I have been totally shaped by music and I'm sure this will continue.

Growing up in the 80's and 90's gave me such a great and broad range of music to listen to and I'm thankful to my parents for introducing me to so many good genres and bands when I was young. I really don't know how I would cope without music in life.