• 8Nov 09

  Wow what a busy weekend...*pics and video*

  Wow, this is the first time I have been able to sit down and have some free time to myself this weekend. It's been a hectic weekend, and so I thought I'd show you what I've been up to.

  This weekend has two significant importants to people living in Great Britain. Firstly it's the Bonfire Weekend - where we celebrate Guy Fawkes night (the attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament by a Catholic group). Secondly it's Remembrance Sunday today, of which Britain remembers the men and women who sacrificed their lives to keep our country sovereign.

  For the fireworks, we got some sparklers and a few fountains - guess who chose the one below

  

  The Halo firework.....which went off like this:

  Short but sweet.....bit like Halo 3 ODST

  I have also been modding my MegaDrive console...with a few neat tricks that will make my gaming much easier. A little back drop to this mod, I saw a few videos on modding consoles, and followed a few website guides and decided to buy the materials needed. Here is the beauty itself...

  

  So I changed the LED from the generic red to a lush bring blue. This is more in line with Sonic, and is a great way to make my console more unique. However I have also changed a few other things to the console. I live in the UK, and as gamers our consoles were kept at 50hz, and we were also not available to play Japanese games. However after modding the console, I am able to switch willy-nilly between 50 and 60hz, as well as Japanese and English language!

  

  The switch to the left is for 60/50 (in that order) and the right one is set at Jap/Eng language (again in that order). However all is not 100% complete. I'm going to be making a sticker to show each use of the switch, and I've also got a SCART lead ordered, as 60hz is shown as black and white on the old RF cable.

  Finally, I hope to be expecting Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 tomorrow, but knowing the postal service here I won't see it until tuesday. Which is a shame, as I've been expecting this game for some time.

  And on a final, final note - I found this random photo of my trip to the London Expo a few weeks ago....unfortunately its not the original crew.

  

  • Posted Nov 8, 2009 3:20 pm PT
  • Category: General
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• 4Nov 09

  Wow Fallout...just wow

  

  Truth be said, I never really got into Fallout 3. When it was first released my brother and my mate both got it on the xbox. I could constantly hear them in V.A.T.s mode, skipping conversations and on youtube looking for help. So I decided to borrow it, and I played a bit, got out of Vault 101, and got to Megaton. That's where I stalled. I never got any further, and never really found the game to drag me in.

  Six months later, and WOW. I've gone from Level 3 in Megaton to Level 18 and onto the Broken Steel expansion. This game has totally changed my life, and has been the first RPG since Evolution on Dreamcast and Diablo on the PC to draw me in like this. I can't stop. Serious, I'm knocking out 3 or 4 achievements a night.

  

  One of my all-time favourite games on the Dreamcast

  Let me explain my reasons. The first time I played it, I had just left Vault 101 and literally thrust onto the Wasteland to fend for myself. At the time I thought this game was on the verge of being boring - however I now understand. From the safety of Vault 101, to the terror of leaving, to the feeling of being completely alone. This game has toyed with my emotions. The last game to do that was MGS4 at the end with Snake holding a pistol in his mouth. Except this time I wasn't in control of my emotions - I just felt completely alone. No-one was there, even my in-game Dad had run off. To me this feeling is beyond words. You're only guidance is a Pip-Boy 3000, and the ability to go north, south, east or west. That's it. YOU make the game.

  

  Saw VII - Snake gets a gun glued to his mouth

  Shortly after this, I had just finished the mission where this child eats his own parents and rescued him - and this is where the pace picked up quickly. My brother had just told me of the Lincoln Repeater. A .44 bullet taking long barrelled weapon. Imagine a magnum with a huge barrell, and the ability to kill in one clean headshot. With this gun I was able to fly through the rest of the quests. Picking up the occasional side quest when I ran into it. Along with my brother who gave me tips like not to use the Nuka-Cola Quantum, or not to side with the Enclave - I managed to beat the game. I felt like I had maybe the game in too little time, in that I hadn't given myself time to appreciate the Wasteland for all it's post-apocalyptic wonder.

  

  Easily one of the best guns in the game..along side the Fatman

  So now I'm most of the way through Broken Steel and I've realised...I got to do this game all over again. Quests can drop when you do the main quest, and I've had no idea of where they are simply because the map is HUGE. Therefore I'm going to have to go through the same emotions again, and to start off with a BB-Gun. Not only that but I'll have to do it with bad and neutral karma - unless I fancy doing the game again twice.

  At the end of the day I'm quite happy to indulge in the Wasteland. I've got all four expansions for Fallout 3 (courtesy of my brother who bought the discs, loaded them onto our xboxes and sold them again on eBay!) so I'll be hooked for a while. I may even cancel my Modern Warfare 2 pre-order. For at the moment this game keeps getting bigger and better. If I do get 100% on this game, I may have to get Borderlands. Now that's a different story...

  • Posted Nov 4, 2009 6:44 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 2Nov 09

  London MCM Expo - Bayonetta preview *pics*

  This is my third blog in the MCM Expo, and despite being a week ago I luckily made notes on the games whilst having lunch

  

  Anyway onto the preview. Firstly it's made by the fellows behind Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, so expect it to be over the top action with huge bosses and massively over-powered attacks. The protagonist in this game, Bayonetta, is a witch who attacks with guns, melee weapons and...her hair. Everything about this game feels very japanese, as it brings everything we love (and hate) about this ****of gameplay.

  The game feels very much like Genji on the Playstation 3 at first, very cinematic, the cut-scenes filled with dialogue and the usual banter between characters. However the background looks gorgeous, and character details are filled with lush colours and the now expected high level of detail. Every attack seems to have some sort of colour co-ordination, in that every attack is vivid, and kid of resembling a cartoon fight.

  The level Iplayed featured Bayonetta in a gorgeous backdrop, somewhere in Europe. The gameplay majorly echoes Devil May Cry, with complex combos and a mixture of melee and ranged attacks - the usual enemies seem to pose no threat, but are merely a stat in this combo lusting action. The bosses, on the other hand, seem to resemble the huge and ill-proportioned bosses from God of War. These bosses definitely do pose a threat, however always seem to have generic weak spots such as the head, heart or crack in the armour. Despite this the bosses played did take a large chunk of health whenever I was hit, and can present a challenge to even the most hardened players.

  

  Apoligies for the flash in the screenshot, I was quickly ushered out of the booth...

  However there are some annoyances in the gameplay. Once annoyance that I could not get my head around was everytime the character jumps and lands, butterflies fly out of her shoes. This added typical japanese extra annoyed me for some strange reason, it didn't seem to do anything, and made the bad-ass character turn almost girly for a split-second.

  The real let down in the game seems to be a lack of original gameplay. It seems to add very little in terms of innovative gameplay. As I've mentioned a few times, the gameplay certainly feels like Devil May Cry mixed with God of War, and little else. Although it feels generic, the storyline, characters and combo system are original - of which there is nothing wrong with that. Some critics of the Uncharted series have labelled it as a Tomb Raider meets Gears of War with new characters.

  So, whether we'll be seeing rave reviews all depends on how the game develops. They need to add some innovation to the gameplay, maybe a chase scene or some Uncharted scenarios which literally put you at the edge of your seat? In any case, the game feels decent, the controls are simple, and it could turn out to be good.

  • Posted Nov 2, 2009 5:56 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
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