One of the disadvantages to being the protagonist of a long-running series of games is that you usually build up an impressive list of enemies. Sonic the Hedgehog is no exception to this rule, for while his chief antagonist will always be Doctor Robotnik/Eggman, a number of games in the series have introduced new villains to fight – the later games in particular. Sonic Generations looks to showcase a number of those villains, if the leaked demo hack is anything to go by.

However, we now know for sure one villain that will appear in the game, and it’s one that many Sonic fans will recognize as the first evil counterpart of the blue hedgehog to gain substantial recognition from the fanbase. He is the Venom to Sonic’s Spider-Man, the Bizarro to his Superman. He is Metal Sonic.

The screenshots released show Metal Sonic chasing after the old-school hero in a scene that is very reminiscent of Metal Sonic’s original appearance in Sonic CD, acting as the boss for the second-to-last level.

While the screenshots were listed as being from the Chemical Plant Zone from Sonic 2, the background doesn’t exactly match the original level, and again, looks more like Metal Sonic’s first appearance.

Have a look and judge for yourself.

Whether these are showcasing the Chemical Plant Zone or not, the boss battle certainly looks like a real challenge. Having to run away from what is most likely an invincible enemy that can actually destroy the platforms you’re using to escape is a kind of old-school boss battle that you don’t really see anymore. It should also be interesting to see how this boss battle will play out for the modern version of Sonic, if the two have the same bosses.

What’s also noteworthy is that both Metal Sonic and the Chemical Plant Zone were mentioned on the leaked demo list, and the Chemical Plant Zone was featured in the 20th anniversary trailer. This may show that the rumor of the video featuring levels that will appear in Sonic Generations has some truth to it.

Is the Chemical Plant Zone a lock for Sonic Generations? Do either the demo leak or the anniversary trailer rumor seem more likely now?

Sonic Generations will arrive this holiday season for the Xbox 360, PS3, and 3DS.

Source : Game Rant

For those who are among the younger generation of gamers, or anyone who hasn’t played the original, Ocarina of Time follows the adventures of young Link. He awakens one morning to find himself hand-picked by the great Deku tree, the benevolent protector of the forest in which the Kokiri people live. His task? To venture out into the big world, meet a princess and save everyone from the impending doom being spearheaded by pointy-nosed Ganon. All a rather low pressure situation for Link. He handles it with a demeanor befitting of a hero, all the time rocking the green hat.

You want to talk to Saria, right?

Graphically, Ocarina of Time has been given a huge boost into portable space with sweeping crisp curves replacing blocky jagged edges and walls that don’t give you a headache to look at. This kind of graphical improvement is beyond the realms of a simple port, or at least any I have had the pleasure of dealing with. Of course, with this being the 3DS, 3D is one of the main focuses. As with most other 3DS titles the 3D is mainly used for depth of field effects. Simple sights like the Deku tree show off their true scale and grandeur with the 3D turned on. Ocarina of Time is pleasant to play with the 3D turned up; its soft graphics compliment the 3D in a way that doesn’t present too many headaches. This time around your helpful fairy friend Navi provides helpful reminders to take a break or even watch a hint movie.

Some of you who played the original will now be confused. I can already hear the slightly bitter tone of voice mutter about how gamers didn’t need hint videos back in the day so why should we now. Some of the puzzles and dungeons were gruelling; it was the trend at the time – this doesn’t mean it has to continue. I’m not trying to say that the game has been made easier. In fact, the opposite is true in that it is still the same puzzles as it had before. Good job it has been 13 years between playthroughs for the hardcore fans.

The point is that hint videos are now available for those that want them via Sheikah stones; they look like the gossip stones of the original but allow you to crawl inside for a quick hint at the future. Navi, helpful as ever, offers her advice, usually to the tune of “That door has a barrier” or some other obvious statements. Helpful for those who are truly stuck but the seasoned adventurer shouldn’t get too stuck… at least not until the later temples.

The fine balance of Combat, Exploration and Story is expertly managed during Ocarina of Time’s 23+ hours of gaming time. The combat follows a simple attack and block format which would get boring if it wasn’t for the multitude of weapons available to dispatch the equally varied number of enemies, each of course having a different weakness of way of defeating them. Weapons like the slingshot and other projectiles use the 3DS gyroscope to aim; by moving the console you move your viewpoint. Simple stuff but it works brilliantly compared to other gyro-controlled games I have tried. The gyroscope works in the same manner for both the Shield (for blocking enemy attacks) and a first-person area view when exploring.

Don’t look down!

This brings me to one of my favourite parts of this 3D reboot, the touchscreen. If I could insert a smiley here to depict my joy at using this new menu system it would probably look something like this XD. The new menu system is sleek and easy to use with a map in the middle, your equipped items on the right and Navi on the left. Items can be assigned to any of the 3 face keys plus 2 extra touch slots. Simply tap an item to equip and tap again to unequip. Simple, fast and efficient; the perfect menu system, no?

If you are the type of gamer that likes hunting for collectables or hidden items then Ocarina of Time has you covered. There are spiders, hearts, weapons and all manner of things scattered around the game’s 21 locales. Some items are important to the narrative and others aren’t. All, however, are good fun to hunt down if you wish to stray from your path for a while. The majority of collectables come at the behest of the worlds denizens, usually after performing a fetch quest in typical adventure fashion.

There isn’t much more to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time but really there doesn’t need to be. The story is paced brilliantly and the combat is a perfect mix of different methods; repetitive enough to be familiar but varied enough to keep things fresh. I used to hold the opinion that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was a classic game and a memento to how games used to be. Having played it again I am pleased to say that 13 years later it is still as fresh as when it was first released. This level of freshness doesn’t just come from a new coat of paint or new features, it comes from a game that, like its hero, goes on a journey through time and comes out stronger then it was before. If you own a 3DS and love adventurous hijinks then Ocarina of Time is for you.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is available now on Nintendo 3DS

Source : Adventure Game The Average Gamer

What is it?
A bunch of mini-games based around the touch-screen and microphone inputs. Old for a DS game.

Is it fun?
Very briefly.

Is it worth the money? Around £8-£10 preowned.
Noooooooo. Not at all. Not even the £7.97 I paid for it.

Maybe if you can find it for £2 at a garage sale.

Why not?

There’s no thinking involved. Every mini-game really is just a case of poke the dots on the screen, trace the line or blow/shout down the microphone but with none of that pesky stuff like tactics. Their idea of making it more challenging later on was to give you three of the levels you’ve already done, but change the colour scheme, make you tap the screen more times to achieve the same end and make you do them back to back so if you fail on the third, you have to play through the previous two segments again. Yawn.

Finding the hidden rabbits is also pretty dull as it pretty much involves randomly tapping bits of the cut-scenes (goldfish) and hitting the back button to watch them again if you missed. And what do you get if you find enough rabbits? A new pair of shoes for the girl silhouette. W00t Crap!

Rubbish game. I returned it after 2 days and bought Tetris DS. Much more worthwhile investment

Screenshot (wasn’t worth the effort looking for more then one):

Source : Arcade Game The Average Gamer

http://www.shadowgroundsgame.com/new/

It’s a top down shooter with a very derivative plot (people colonise planet, people go drilling, uh-oh killer aliens unleashed… etc) but that shouldn’t really be a concern as long as the game stands up.

I tried the demo version that you can download for free (via Steam) that offers two of the early levels and one of the later ones. There is a nice progression where you start with just a torch light (that scares the smaller aliens – very neat feature), and slowly progress to pistol, shotgun etc. Weapons are upgraded via the currency of green blobs that some of the aliens drop after death, where you can add secondary fire functions or improve firepower. Levels are big and pretty varied in layout, it will be interesting to see if the final ones go more organic (alien hive) as the ones in the demo are all human facility buildings.

All in all this game is good old fashioned fun, and via the demo you get a great chance to try before you buy!

How much is it? – via Steam US$ 20 + tax or via play.com £18 and you get it in a box.

ps – I haven’t yet tried the coop mode, but really want to as it sounds like lots of fun (sadly it’s not over LAN, you all need to play on the same PC). And the only negative was that sometimes the graphic for my torchlight corrupted dramatically, which I’m hoping was caused by my drivers being a bit out of date.

Source : Arcade Game The Average Gamer

What is it?
Multi-directional shoot-em-up (a 1990 arcade classic!).

Is it fun?
Yes.

Is it worth the money?
Yes – Only 500 Microsoft points or £3.40.

Why?
In two words – “Total carnage!”

The entire game involves running around killing everything that moves and collecting money and “fabulous” prizes. Your killing power can be enhanced, albeit temporarily, by collecting the various weapon power-ups that randomly appear in the game arena (a Running Man-like TV studio). These power-ups are essential to your survival in Smash TV as you fight off wave after wave of unrelenting men/robots/snakes/tanks and snakemen.

As you progress though each arena the difficulty level really gets jacked up, along with the body count. Oh yes, death on an unprecedented scale. Add a little soupçon of despair to all this carnage and eh voila, the perfect arcade game. Mmm, actually come to think of it, I was experiencing mostly despair towards the very end as the enemies just would not stop coming!

There are a total of 3 levels available, each one composed of a varying number of arenas with the whole game taking about 30-40 mins to complete and using about 5 squillion Continues!

The graphics and sound are basic at best, so don’t judge Smash TV on its looks. Simply try out the trial game on Xbox Live and you’ll soon find out how much fun this game is.

You can also get hold of Smash TV on Gamecube, Xbox, PSOne and PS2 by way of Midway’s Arcade Treasures 1 here.

Screenshots:

Links:
Smash TV page on Wikipedia

Update 19th Aug 06: Check out the upcoming PSP game Cash Money Chaos. Look familiar? It’s Smash TV in the 1970s!

Source : Arcade Game The Average Gamer

I do love this series but there are so many things wrong with it that I find it hard to recommend them to people I don’t know well.

Game Mechanics

The gameplay for Trials and Tribulations is almost exactly the same as Justice For All. This wouldn’t be so bad but for one thing; each chapter has at least one point where there are no hints as to the item you have to present to get the story going. Once you know the story, the item is obvious but that’s the whole problem. You don’t know the story. The only way to figure it out is to present everything at every statement until you finally hit upon the right combo. Sometimes you’ve made the right guess as to the story but picked an item that needs to be shown at a later stage. PENALTY!

Even worse, these two PW games introduced psyche-locks – during the investigation, you have to persuade characters to spill their innermost secrets by presenting them with the right piece of evidence or character profile. I found these incredibly tedious (though I like the animation and sound that went with it). The psyche-lock segments made the investigation chapters feel just like the courtroom with the added bonus of multiplying the number of times you could get stuck. Not a good thing as I enjoyed the change of pace between research and courtroom.

In contrast, Apollo Justice did away with the psyche-locks, if not the actual mystery-inventory-item flaws. Instead, you get to do a bit of forensic investigation in the form of fingerprint analysis and the like. We previously saw this in the final DS-only chapter of the first game and it was bloody good. It’s a pity these moments were underused, and just criminal that the only time you got to try them out was when you knew you were going to find something. Still, it was an enjoyable, if fleeting improvement.

The other big change in Apollo Justice was Perception (for want of a better thing to call it). In Bracelet Perception Mode (don’t ask) you can scrutinise the witness’s body language and looks for a “tell” to indicate that they’re lying. This was almost fun but for the fact that you could only look at a tiny part of the witness at a time. Allowing me to zoom out for less detail would have been less frustrating as each character had roughly five testimony statements, three different “phases” to a statement where they could lie and four different body parts that could have a tell.

Characters

(Teeny spoiler here revealing characters that appear in Trials and Tribulations)
The greatest thing about the Phoenix Wright series is the characters that you meet. They’re all quirky and distinctive. So why does Phoenix not grow at all during the first three games? Even by the end of game three, he’s still a self-doubting rookie who needs a sidekick to kick him into action. This was made all the more obvious in the chapter where you get to play Edgeworth, self-confident and in control. Frankly, Edgeworth was just awesome in that chapter and I really hope that Gyakuten Kenji keeps him that way.
(End of spoiler)

I had hoped that new protagonist Apollo Justice would be less timid but noooooooo. Three games of building up Phoenix’s confidence and now you get dropped right back where you started with a rookie attorney who needs to be taught about the Court Record and presenting evidence all over again. Aaaaargh!

In Summary

Not that different from the original game, really. Great storytelling, crappy gameplay. Not a dealbreaker for me but would be for most people I know.

Screenshots

Source : Adventure Game The Average Gamer

“Lets go bowling, as I know this interesting alley in Bloomsbury” says Tikipod. “Ok, sounds good” I replied. A few days later (Sunday) I go along expecting some top quality bowling entertainment and what did I get? Top quality free arcading that’s what, oh, and some fun bowling.

Quite what the Galaxian machine is doing sitting outside the girls toilet I don’t know, but since it was all alone it was time for a quick play to see if the old fella still works. After some extensive paytesting we found the joystick was a bit ropey making it very tricky to move left (just be forceful and whack it left instead, that works), otherwise the machine worked like a dream. And then there’s the cost…

FREE PLAY. Oh yes, those magic words that I’m only ever used to seeing on MAME sitting there, blinking at me on a arcade machine in London. Yay. Yes, this machine really does cost nothing to play. Nada, zip, zero.
Also Will (one of our friends) spent ages racking up the damn high score on the machine before I could take some pictures. Tisk, how inconsiderate.

Source : Arcade Game The Average Gamer

I’ve always been rather indifferent when it comes to Mario games until I played Super Mario 64, which was brilliant. Unfortunately the GameCube’s Mario extravaganza (Super Mario Sunshine) was well, total poo to be honest. However, I’m pleased to say that Super Mario Galaxy tops even the great Mario 64 for sheer enjoyment. I can’t even complain of the total lack of imagination shown by Nintendo when it churns out the same games for each generation of Nintendo console when this incarnation of Mario is just so much fun.

The graphics look great (by Wii standards) and complement the game wonderfully. Sure there are some iffy looking textures and a few jaggies, but I didn’t care as the whole game is amazing. The sound is a perfect mix of chirpyness and classic Mario sounds and themes. It also has a brilliant, brilliant music track for the Battlerock galaxy that I challenge anyone to play this galaxy and not have a giant smile on their face.

I loved the whole playfulness of Mario’s new galaxy environment. Flying, flipping, gliding, jumping and catapulting between all the planets on each of the levels is just awesome. The attention to detail that the designers have lavished on every planet, however small, is a joy to behold. I loved the way that seemingly simple puzzles were brought to life by splitting them over lots of mini planets and great use of the Wii controller. This is probably the first game after Wii Sports where the control method just feels right. From rolling around on top a giant ball, to flying through the air as a little bumble bee, the Wiimote and nunchuk make controlling Mario something to be enjoyed.

Bad points. Well, swimming underwater takes a bit of getting used to. The camera has a habit of choosing the worst time to change its viewpoint, which usually happens when you’re negotiating a really nasty sequence of platforms.

It took me just over 14 hours to get to the end of the game and finally beat Bowser, but that still leaves me with another 55 power stars to collect. Then I will have finally completed the game. So Lord knows how long that’s going to take with some fiendish and very dexterous puzzles lying in wait.

In summary:

A wonderful game in every way. Mario is the easily the best game on the Wii.

Screenshots:

Age rating:

3+ (PEGI)

What is it?

A Mario game – 3D-platformer.

Is it fun?

Yes.

Is it worth the money? £32.99

Yes.

Why?

Source : Action Game The Average Gamer

Episode One – The Intro

Alan Wake is an experience that wears its influences on its sleeve like a corsage that’s not only bright and eye catching, but that the wearer points to every five minutes and says, “Have you seen this?!” The first two words of the admittedly excellent voice work from Matthew Porretta are “Stephen King”, and the game continues with this level of referential subtlety for the next twelve hours or so.

Despite this minor gripe, Alan Wake delivers atmosphere in droves. From the off you’re treated to a fully realised and fleshed out world that is eerie in the extreme. The game certainly looks spectacular, though it’s worth noting that it looks markedly better during cut scenes than gameplay. Whilst this is not such a bad thing in most games, the sheer amount of cut scenes in the opening sections of Alan Wake casts a stark light *snigger* over the rest of the game and breaks from the immersion that it tries so hard to build.

Episode Two – The Tireless Narrator

Previously in Tom’s review of Alan Wake… Tom talked about the somewhat overzealous references littered throughout Alan Wake and implied that the visual quality of the cut scenes makes the rest of the game feel a bit cheap and unrealistic by comparison.

Alan Wake has been billed as a cinematic experience and it certainly follows through on this promise; from the episodic layout of the plot to the narration between major set pieces throughout the game. The game’s narrative style is novel to begin with, but quickly becomes tiresome as you begin to realise you’ve been watching the game about as much as you’ve played it. This certainly isn’t Metal Gear Solid IV (a 30 hour movie with interactive sections) but neither does it feel like you’re really getting your gaming fix from what is already a relatively short-lived title.

Alan Wake’s success rests on the gamers’ ability to allow themselves to become immersed and follow the carefully planned path the developers have laid out for them. This is a fine concept, but this carefully laid out path teeters on a knife edge. Ultimately, the fact that you’re playing a game means it’s often easy to step outside this path, breaking the immersion. Even trying to play as I thought the developers wanted me to, there were a few instances where I was pulled out of the experience with the jarring realisation that what I was experiencing was just a game.

Episode Three – A Micromachine in the Darkness

Previously in Tom’s review of Alan Wake… We talked about overusing cut scenes and how easily an immersive experience can be broken.

The driving sections of the Alan Wake were woefully misjudged and come as a jarring departure from the standard gameplay. Every time Alan sidles up to a vehicle you get that sinking feeling as you realise you’re going to have to trundle around in what feels like the offspring of a bumper car and a Micro Machine until you reach a bottleneck in the road: the game’s less than subtle way of drawing each driving section to a close. I can’t help but feel that the game could have been improved immensely by having another cut scene rather than forcing me to suffer through the primitive driving mechanics.

The combat of Alan Wake requires you to use various light emitting devises, such as a torch or flare, to strip away the darkness shrouding the zombie-like “Taken” in order to pump them full of lead until they fizzle into nothingness. This is an intriguing take on a mechanic that has been tried again and again; however the resulting gunplay is unfortunately functional rather than genuinely enjoyable.

For all its flaws, there are a few things that Alan Wake does very well indeed. As I’ve mentioned, the voice acting is superb. Not only does Matthew Porretta’s protagonist convey every emotion you’d expect from a man going through such a harrowing experience, but Alan Wake as the narrator evokes a satisfying blend of apathy, pretentiousness and arrogance. Whether this is intentional or otherwise, I thought it was a nice touch; after all, we’re listening to a man who is quite literally wrapped up in his own writing.

Episode four – A Fitting End

Previously in Tom’s review of Alan Wake… Yes alright I’ll stop this now, but you get my point. Every episode begins with a summary of what happened previously. Notably, this is skippable, but the annoyance is still there. It seems as if the game actually invites you to put down your controller at the end of every episode. This only adds to the overwhelming feeling that Alan Wake would have made a much more enjoyable TV show than it does a game.

For every enjoyable element of this game there are a handful of downright broken ones. Whilst the game’s premise is bold and engaging, it seems a shame that the developers haven’t managed to produce a more interesting end product. Despite its flaws however, Alan Wake remains worth a look, if only because the lack of a lengthy storyline means the game will end only shortly after your interest does.

Screenshots:

Source : Action Game The Average Gamer

Story

There’s an actual plot with actual personalities and natural sounding dialogue. It’s like they hired a real writer and everything! Elika is a great female character with her own motivations and while yes, she is the obligatory hourglass shape, she wears clothes and has more purpose in the story than just looking pretty and supporting the hero.

Plot exposition is very well handled. Cut scenes are kept short to give you the bare minimum of information that you need to get on with the game. They haven’t let that destroy the story however – those of us who actually enjoy narrative can continue the conversation whenever we want by pulling the left trigger. Plot points are nicely interspersed with character and relationship-building dialogue. They’ve hired some talented voice actors, too. I love it.

Death

The death cutscene is barely a second long – no frustrated bashing the button to try and speed up the same slow-mo death-panning shot you’ve seen a hundred times before, a la Mass Effect. It’s quick and simple and you’re back on your feet, ready to go again. Best of all, the resume point is the last flat surface you were on which is rarely more than 30 seconds back.

Some people might complain that this makes the game too easy but I completely disagree. I think it opens up the world for experimentation that much more. In the recent Tomb Raider demo I spent more time clinging onto vines being afraid to jump because I knew I’d have to do the whole tedious climb-jump-traverse-jump-climb again and again if I was wrong. Even worse, if the camera popped over to a weird angle just as I was about to jump, it wouldn’t even be my failure but I’d still have to pay the price. In Prince of Persia, you’re not afraid to try risky moves in order to reach that light seed that seems just out of reach because the penalty isn’t so bad after all.

Combat

Battles are… interesting. Well, they were interesting for a while. I was very proud of spending an hour or so working out how to break each of the special defences used by the bosses. Then I flipped through the manual and it was right there on page 14 After that, the battles got a bit tedious but then, combat isn’t really the point of this game at all. Prince of Persia is all about exploring the environments, and they are beautiful indeed.

That it for part 1. Come back in a few days to read more about the environment and the sheer joy of moving around in this world.

Source : Adventure Game The Average Gamer