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  • Chris Till 7:09 pm on March 10, 2010 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags: , Formula 1   

    F1 2010 is almost here and it’s exciting 

    The first practice session of the season takes place on Friday morning in Bahrain and the season is shaping up to be one of the greatest of all time. 4 teams at least are vying for the title and that means 8 drivers have a realistic chance at the championship.

    Not only that but teams like Sauber, Force india, Williams, Renault and maybe even Toro Rosso could all surprise people with their performance this year. I’m hoping along with everyone else who follows the sport for as many competitive teams as possible to be on the grid throughout the season.

    Of course, among all the changes this year which include the banning of refuelling and the KERS power-boost system from last year is the addition of several new teams. After rumours of teams not making the grid (one came to be true) and other prospective teams trying and eventually failing to replace them, we ended up with 3 fairly solid teams in Lotus, Virgin and Hispania.

    While the new teams appear to be a handful of second off the pace at first, hopefully with time and throughout the season they will begin to bridge the gap and become more competitive.

    First practice is 7am UK on Friday so if you’re a hardcore fan, make sure to tune in to see the cars running for the first time on a race weekend.

     

  • Chris Till 7:29 pm on February 24, 2010 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags: , Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Other M, ,   

    Nintendo News 

    So in the last couple of days Nintendo have been holding press conferences in Australia and the US where they’ve announced several things. The most obvious being the release date of the DSi XL in the US while the surprises were that Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid Other M have both been given release dates, and not just release dates in the autumn like we all expected, release dates in the May to June timeframe, with Galaxy 2 coming first and Metroid no more than a couple of months after. These are also presumably coordinated worldwide launches for both.

    Whether or not I actually buy these games when they come out or not (Mario Galaxy 2 is more likely but I need to play more of the first before that), I am excited for everyone who is either a hardcore Nintendo fan or just a gamer wanting good stuff to play regardless of platform. Nintendo could have easily just done what we’re so used to seeing in the games industry, which would be to just put out both games in the Autumn / Winter timeframe and just rely on the long term successes like Wii Fit and Mario Kart and all the others to carry them through the year until then. After all, New Super Mario bros. will eternally have new in the name so therefore it will continue to sell.

    However, Nintendo haven’t sat back and let the profits roll in for once and instead are being really aggressive by putting both these big games out in mid-year. Of course, they’re partly doing this to leave room in their release schedule for Zelda and possibly another game or two later on in 2010.

    The sceptics will surely be pointing out that with the massive profits they make on hardware and software (which costs far less to develop than for other systems) they should have been making much more great games since it became clear that the Wii was going to be a runaway success, which of course it has.

    While that is true, take solace in the fact that Nintendo are seemingly finally getting their act together.

     

  • Chris Till 5:58 pm on February 13, 2010 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags: , Google Buzz, Twitter   

    Google Buzz 

    I didn’t find out about this straight away but Google Buzz is a new service that integrates into GMail as well as having a big presence on Google’s mobile websites. It has a similar feel to twitter but instead of trying to replace it, it has an option to integrate with it, and pull in your tweets to this feed.

    One thing I like is how it integrates with the Google profiles. It adds an element of usefulness to something which people generally ignore. I like how Google are doing this, because I’ve always loved the way they do things in a minimal, smart way. I just wished they would do more things which appeal to a wide audience as opposed to making toys which only early adopters who are enthusiasts will use.

    My only concern is that Google are continuing to release many different products which appear to overlap, thus confusing the more mainstream users as well as the more techy people to a lesser extent.

    Google Wave has become notorious for being confusing and offering too many options rather than streamlining the experience. While I feel like the service does have potential as a future email replacement, for the time being it’s a bit too ahead of it’s time.

    Google also have Talk and Buzz both tightly integrated into GMail’s web interface, as well as docs, which Wave takes elements of. Talk and Buzz don’t appear to cross over really and provide useful communication tools for different instances. Talk caters to one to one quick chat while Buzz is more of a public means of communication, even if you’re only sending posts to a certain group, it’s most likely to be to more than one person, and not a very personal message.

    Of course then you have email, which still serves a purpose for slower communication and receiving information from various sources, although saying that, Reader is now more useful for keeping up with news from many different sources across various sources.

    Overall, I personally like Google Buzz. It forces you to sort out your Google Contacts which is useful, it breathes new life into Google Profiles and adds a new dimension to Google’s online communication tools without overwhelming people in the same way as Wave.

     

  • Chris Till 6:42 am on January 21, 2010 Permalink
    Tags: ,   

    Taking a gaming break, and DSi XL 

    Recently I’ve been taking a break from gaming for a few reasons. I’m making a concerted effort to spend less money on games I won’t play enough to justify, and just games in general.

    However, there are plenty of games that I am interested in that are coming out often so it’s not like I’ll have nothing to play, far from it in fact. I just want to spend more time on other interests and only spend money on the games I know I’ll love as opposed to taking risks on games I’m not sure about, and buying based on purely hype.

    I also want to mention that in the end I did order a DSi XL. It’s been a long time since I bought my DS lite and I almost can’t look at it anymore because of how old school it feels. That, and the nice large screens on the XL make it hard to resist.

     

  • Chris Till 8:47 pm on January 14, 2010 Permalink
    Tags: , ,   

    I’m not sure why but I’m really tempted by the DSi XL. It’s just hard to look at my DS lite anymore because it feels so low tech by comparison. It’s partly imagining playing SoulSilver on the new one that gets me excited.

    That and any possible good DSiWare games if they ever release anything. The price is also surprisingly decent. I expected it to go for considerably more than the DSi but it’s actually not too bad, especially for someone who hasn’t upgraded yet.

    The colour selection is a bit limited and I would have preferred a white one, but the dark brown looks quite cool.

     

  • Chris Till 12:52 am on January 14, 2010 Permalink
    Tags: , Naughty Dog, , ,   

    IGN confirmed Uncharted 2 as GOTY today. It’s probably more relief than anything. It almost seemed like they were going to go against it because it was too obvious, but in the end Naughty Dog got the award they so richly deserve.

    Well done to the team and I’m sure Uncharted 3 will have a similar impact.

     

  • Chris Till 4:20 am on December 31, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: ,   

    PS3 Slim Upgrade 

    Earlier today I was about to use the new data transfer tool to move all our downloadable games, dlc, saves and patches over to our new slim from our original 60gb. Literally as I was going to press start transfer after hooking the two system up by ethernet, the 60gb turned itself off and it kept doing so as I tried to turn it back on multiple times. Essentially it’s totally finished at this point and it picked a very inopportune time to.

    It seems that what we originally thought was an error effecting the blu-ray drive exclusively, may be an issue with the whole system. While we did already buy a new system to replace it, it’s like adding insult to injury when the old one dies before it can at least transfer our data across.

    I suppose for some lighter users it would be not such a big deal, but we have a lot of content that we’ll have to download again, game saves lost which may make me not want to go back in those games and patches which can take hours upon hours to download.

    Then there’s game installs. Those can be monstrous in size and although at this point in the system’s lifecycle, developers have figured out how they can avoid huge installs, they can still be a problem, especially for the older games.

    What I ended up doing was just accepting that the old PS3 was dead and just put it away in its box and set up the slim. I do like the slim a lot more than the original in design. Below is a breakdown of the good and bad points.

    Good

    • Smaller and sleeker
    • More symmetrical (doesn’t have the base shorter on one side)
    • Uses around half the power according to reports
    • No power switch on the back means it’s quicker to get going
    • Control by HDMI is a cool new feature but you need a compatible TV
    • Getting rid of the card readers means there’s less place for dust to gather, no one needs card readers anyway
    • Nicer logo (no spider-man font)

    Bad

    • Only two USB ports
    • No backwards compatibility (not that I ever used it on the original, but it would be nice to know it was there)
    • Fans are not really loud but they are more noticeable than before and have a whiney sound to them which can be annoying, even when idle. I’ve yet to test it when the system is under strain though.

    I’ll have more soon when I get a chance to play more, but so far, despite not wanting to replace the PS3, it is a nicer machine to own. I just hope that this one can last until the next generation of consoles roles around.

     

  • Chris Till 3:22 pm on December 22, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: Bayonetta, ,   

    The fact that IGN gave Bayonetta on 360 a 9.6 and PS3 a 8.2, that’s a massive 14 decimal point difference and is absolutely unacceptable at this time in the console’s lifespan. For things like this to happen at the beginning when developers were learning the hardware is one thing, but 3 years in, it shouldn’t be allowed.

    That said, I did pre-order the game because I want to play it and have no other choice. I’m sure it will look ok to me since I’m not the most picky gamer, but still. Sony are trying their best to give the PS3 the best possible chance in the marketplace, and stuff like this is certainly not what they need.

     

  • Chris Till 4:23 pm on December 20, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , ,   

    3DGalaxy 2009 Game Awards – Overall 

    Overall 2009 Awards

    Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

    Since all of these games have won in other categories, I won’t go into why I picked them since you should already know.

    Best Action Game - Ratchet & Clank: ACiT

    Also notable: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, inFamous, Batman: Arkham Asylum (playing soon)

    Best Fighting Game - Street Fighter IV

    Best Music Game - The Beatles: Rock Band

    Also notable: Guitar Hero 5, Rock Band Unplugged

    Best Platform Game - LittleBigPlanet PSP

    Also notable: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

    Best Puzzle Game - Critter Crunch

    Also notable: Scribblenauts

    Best Racing Game - Dirt 2

    Also notable: F1 200, Need for Speed: Shift, Gran Turismo PSP, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, Excitebots (if it was released here)

    Best Shooter - Borderlands

    Also notable: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Killzone 2, Resistance: Retribution

    Best Sports Game - FIFA 10

    Also notable: Tiger Woods 10 (Wii), Grand Slam Tennis, NBA Live 10, Wii Sports Resort

    Best Strategy Game - Plants vs Zombies

    Also notable: StarDefense

    Best Visual Quality - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

    Also notable: Killzone 2, Ratchet & Clank: ACiT

    Best Use of Sound - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

    Also notable: Ratchet & Clank: ACiT, Killzone 2, Modern Warfare 2, Shatter, Critter Crunch

    Best Story - inFamous

    Also notable: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Ratchet & Clank: ACiT, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

    Best Family Game - Boom Blox Bash Party

    Also notable: Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus

    Best Multiplayer - Modern Warfare 2

    Also notable: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Left 4 Dead 2, Killzone 2, Battlefield 1943, Borderlands, Resistance: Retribution, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

    Best Downloadable Game - Shatter

    Also notable: Critter Crunch, Flower, Fat Princess, PixelJunk Shooter, Plants vs Zombies

    Overall Game of the Year - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

    Also notable: Ratchet & Clank: ACiT, LBP PSP, inFamous, Batman: Arkham Asylum

     

  • Chris Till 3:52 pm on December 20, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , , iPhone, iPod Touch   

    3DGalaxy 2009 Game Awards – iPod Touch / iPhone 

    App Store 2009 Awards

    Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

    Best Music Game - Rock Band

    Rock Band has great production value for an iPhone game, very good graphics and as you would expect, a good set list of songs to play. The controls of the game can be inconsistent from my experience which can make the game frustrating sometimes.

    Best Puzzle Game - Peggle

    Peggle is a great game, and this port is the perfect title to keep you occupied for a few mins every now and then.

    Also notable: Bookworm

    Best Strategy Game - StarDefense

    StarDefense is another quality game from ngmoco that takes tower defence to a whole new level. Each level takes place on a 3D planet which you can scroll around freely. It’s a very unique take on the genre with high production values.

    Best Visual Quality - Zen Bound

    Zen Bound is a very unique, stylish game which is all about a relaxing experience. You simply use your finger to manipulate the object on screen and wrap the rope around it as much as you can.

    Best Use of Sound - Zen Bound

    The sound of the game compliments the relaxing gameplay well, providing a great overall experience.

    Best Multiplayer - Eliminate

    Eliminate is an impressive online multiplayer game on the App Store. While I’m not big on playing shooters with touch controls, I can appreciate a well designed and executed online game on a platform where you might not expect it. Plus, the game is free barring any downloadable add-ons.

    App Store Game of the Year - Peggle

    Possibly the best casual game of all time was perfectly recreated on iPod / iPhone with great controls and the same fun gameplay that the PC and other versions have for years.

    Also notable: Uno, StarDefense, Zen Bound

    Coming Soon: Overall Awards

     

  • Chris Till 5:23 am on December 20, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , ,   

    3DGalaxy 2009 Game Awards – PSP 

    PSP 2009 Awards

    Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

    Best Action Game - Patapon 2

    Patapon was a great PSP game. The sequel takes what you loved about the first one and multiplies it. It’s definitely worth playing whether or not you played the first.

    Also notable:

    Best Music Game - Rock Band Unplugged

    Rock Band Unplugged might not have the same lasting appeal that the console versions have but it does provide an excellent way to spend a few minutes when you want to rock. Because you play with just the buttons, it can make you feel great if you nail a tricky solo or other satisfyingly tough part of a song because the notes are faster than on the normal game, but also easier to hit. Instrument switching takes some getting used to but it is fun after some practice.

    Best Platform Game - LittleBigPlanet PSP

    LBP PSP is a great portable version of the original PS3 hit game LBP, lovingly downsized to fit the PSP perfectly. You don’t lose much of the experience either, making it an astounding technological achievement.

    Best Puzzle Game - PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe

    PJ Monsters Deluxe is essentially the collectors’ edition of the hit PS3 tower defence game. It’s a game that was perfectly suited to the handheld from the beginning and it is really fun to play.

    Also notable: LocoRoco 2

    Best Racing Game - Gran Turismo PSP

    GT PSP might not be technically quite up to speed with MotorStorm but in the end, I had more fun playing this overall. The lack of a career mode is a bit disappointing but it is a handheld game so I can accept that omission. Collecting cars will keep you playing for a while and the promise of being able to transfer the cars to GT5 when it comes out will please quite a few players.

    Also notable: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

    Best Visual Quality - LittleBigPlanet PSP

    This game will make you marvel at the 4 year old PSP and marvel at how this game is really pushing it and unlocking it’s untapped potential.

    Also notable: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

    Best Use of Sound - MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

    I could have given this to LBP as well, but I think MotorStorm definitely deserves an award. It has a great soundtrack, great effects and provides the same brutal off-road racing experience you will find on the PS3 versions of the series.

    Also notable: LittleBigPlanet PSP, Gran Turismo PSP

    Best Story - Resistance: Retribution

    I must admit that U bought RR mainly for the multiplayer. With that said though, the story that is there, is actually well done and for a PSP game and is worth a look if you’re into the gameplay.

    Best Multiplayer - Resistance: Retribution

    Resistance PSP really comes alive online. By far the best online shooter on the system, it feels console quality in its setup and really run exceptionally well considering the hardware. You can tell that Bend Studio made use of all their expertise from creating the Syphon Filter PSP series in creating this game’s online component.

    Also notable: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, Gran Turismo PSP

    PSP Game of the Year - LittleBigPlanet PSP

    I’m a big fan of Patapon 2, but I couldn’t put it ahead of LBP because of how LBP does something that’s never been done before on a handheld. The way you can create levels and share them online works extremely well so you cold conceivably never run out of new levels to play. Of course, the story levels are fantastic as you would expect too. They seem to be a bit tricky for a handheld but they’re fun and challenging without being overly tough. The lack of ad-hoc multiplayer is a shame but the game offers so much that you almost forget about it.

    Also notable: Patapon 2, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, GT PSP, Resistance: Retribution

    Coming Soon: iPod / iPhone and overall awards.

     

  • Chris Till 4:37 am on December 20, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , ,   

    3DGalaxy 2009 Game Awards – DS 

    DS 2009 Awards

    Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

    Best Action Game - GTA Chinatown Wars

    GTA Chinatown Wars on DS is an impressive game. It fitted more action gameplay into a single cartridge than certainly I thought possible. I had fun Dealing drugs and escaping the cops among other things. It feels like a game that shouldn’t be able to fit on DS, but somehow defies that belief.

    Best Puzzle Game - Scribblenauts

    Scribblenauts is a game so huge in its concept that I can’t believe that it even works as a game. Making a game where you can summon almost anything and still make a working game is so impressive. The only real downside is the fiddly controls, namely not allowing you to move Maxwell with the D-pad rather than by the stylus. It’s still a game that a lot of DS owners will enjoy.

    Best Visual Quality - GTA Chinatown Wars

    GTA is technical marvel. Rockstar Leeds did a great job on not only fitting a full GTA experience on the handheld, but making it run well and look great as they have done.

    Best Story - GTA Chinatown Wars

    I’ve never been so engrossed in a DS game before that doesn’t have Pokemon in the name.

    Best Multiplayer - GTA Chinatown Wars

    I played some local multiplayer with my brother one time and we had fun. It’s a bit basic but they do have quite a few modes to choose from. It’s definitely worth trying out at least once if you can.

    DS Game of the Year - GTA Chinatown Wars

    For all the reasons stated above, GTA Chinatown Wars on DS is an exceptional game ad pushed the system seemingly to it’s limits. It’s a shame it hasn’t sold up to expectations so far but since Nintendo’s games tend to have a longer lifespan than most, there’s still time for that to change.

    Also notable: Scribblenauts

    Up next: PSP

     

  • Chris Till 4:18 am on December 20, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , ,   

    3DGalaxy 2009 Game Awards – PC 

    PC 2009 Awards

    Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

    Best Action Game - Borderlands

    Traditional categories kind of don’t matter at this point. I realised there was a vacancy at action game and since Borderlands is more of an action game with it’s vehicle combat than other games that are more strictly shooters, it made sense to put it here. It’s a great game on all platforms.

    Also notable: Batman: Arkham Asylum (playing soon)

    Best Puzzle Game - PuzzleQuest Galactrix

    Interesting twist on the PuzzleQuest formula.

    Best Racing Game - Dirt 2

    While Dirt 2 does effectively insult and ignore the history of Rally and what Colin McRae stood for, the fact is that it is a very well made, very fun off-road racing game in its own right. The only game to beat it in the genre in my opinion is Forza 3.

    Also notable: Race on, Need for Speed: Shift

    Best Shooter - Left 4 Dead 2

    L4D2 is a worthy successor to the first game, even only 1 year after the L4D came out. Other series get yearly sequels which people accept for the most part, this does more than enough to warrant its release as a full price sequel rather than DLC for the original.

    Also notable: Modern Warfare 2, Borderlands

    Best Strategy Game - Plants vs Zombies

    PopCap did it again with their newest game, a fun, deceptively simple RTS where you fight back hordes of Zombies by carefully placing Plants which all have different strengths and weaknesses. It’s a move away from PopCap’s roots as a casual games developer exclusively. However, that’s not to say it can’t be enjoyed by a lot of people, just that the learning curve might be high for some people. Regardless, it’s a great game and certainly worth the price of admission.

    Best Visual Quality - Borderlands

    Gearbox Software took a risk on the cell shaded style of Borderlands paying off, and in the end, it certainly did. The game looks great and very distinctive among many similar games.

    Also notable: Left 4 Dead 2, Modern Warfare 2, Dirt 2

    Best Use of Sound - Modern Warfare 2

    MW2 perfectly captures the intensity and rush of combat through it’s use of sound effects.

    Also notable: Left 4 Dead 2, Plants vs Zombies

    Best Story - Batman: Arkham Asylum

    Batman draws on years of comic storytelling to deliver a great fun and true to the series story for the game. Iconic villains and the location help this cause tremendously.

    Best Multiplayer - Modern Warfare 2

    MW2 is probably the best multiplayer game of all time, and that’s not an understatement. The game is impeccably well engineered to offer not just a great gameplay experience, but also by far the best matchmaking and hosting service ever. One of the most important aspects in multiplayer gaming is how fast actually getting into the game is and how the smooth / lag free the gameplay itself is once you get there. MW2 excels in all areas, leading to the massive commercial and critical success it has garnered to this point.

    Also notable: Left 4 Dead 2, Borderlands

    PC Game of the Year - Borderlands

    Borderlands was one of those titles, like Batman, that really surprised people this year with how good they were. I personally have had the most fun playing Borderlands on PC this year and that’s reflected in this award.

    Also notable: Modern Warfare 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dirt 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Plants vs Zombies

    Up next: DS

     

  • Chris Till 3:39 am on December 20, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , ,   

    3DGalaxy 2009 Game Awards – Wii 

    Wii 2009 Awards

    Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

    Best Platform Game - New Super Mario Bros. Wii

    NSMB is a good Mario game. It does what you expect in that it takes an established formula and adds new elements to it including local multiplayer and a little motion. Some of the motion is implemented well, like the tilting platforms. Some is annoying to use, like the helicopter hat jump. Overall the game is fun, it just didn’t blow me away, plus I found it to be too picky and frustratingly difficult, which isn’t new to the Mario series or this genre of course, but it hurt my enjoyment as I just wanted to blast through the levels just having fun.

    Best Racing Game - F1 2009

    There hasn’t been a new F1 game for several years, and as someone who has become a huge fan in recent times, it was a bit disheartening. F1 2009 isn’t HD, it doesn’t have online and the default controls are the ever-awful motion steering. It even comes with a cheesy Wii Wheel plastic housing for the remote. However, as long as you play this with the classic controller, and you enjoy driving fast cars, you will almost be guaranteed to love this game. You get an intense sense of speed and great driving mechanics which on default settings feel satisfyingly easy to get to grips with, while also giving you enough of a challenge where you really feel as if you’re on the edge a lot of the time. Turn the driving aids off and you get a much more hardcore racing sim for the more hardcore player who’s waiting for the HD version to come out next year, or hardcore Wii owners. Aside from F1 2009, Excitebots (if it had come out here) would have been right up there with it fighting for best racing game, but as we know, it wasn’t released here, which is a real shame.

    Best Shooter - Modern Warfare Reflex Edition

    While Dead Space Extraction is generally a better game, I don’t really enjoy light gun games so I didn’t play that game. Modern Warfare Reflex therefore wins best shooter by default, in a similar way to how NSMBW won best platform game, without any competition. MW was a pretty good port of a two year old game and to its credit, did have very good online for a Wii game. Especially when compared to The Conduit, which was a big let down in the online play. It practically never worked. It then got shown how to do it by a two year old port. I just find that to be particularly sad. Not only this, but this year I also learned that I don’t like playing FPS games with the Wii remote IR pointer because Dual Analogue is just so much more comfortable and precise. My brother summed it up when he said that he would have come back to the game a lot if it had included classic controller support.

    Best Sports Game - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

    Sports games is a genre the Wii is able to excel at, and it’s where I had the most fun with the system this year. Tiger Woods 10 uses motion-plus in a way which shows off what the peripheral is capable of. It works great and is really enjoyable to play, and very satisfying. Grand Slam Tennis I also enjoyed a lot. Despite the fact that the motion-plus wasn’t utilised as well as it could have been (it doesn’t track the location of the remote constantly, like in Wii Sports Resort Table Tennis for example). Regardless, the game was very enjoyable and shows a lot of potential for next year’s game. Wii Sports Resort is fun, but doesn’t in my opinion falls short of producing the magic that the original Wii Sports had. There are some fun additions though. My personal favourites are basketball 3 on 3 and table tennis. Archery is impressive as a tech demo for motion-plus but isn’t something I would go back to.

    Also notable: Wii Sports Resort, Grand Slam Tennis

    Best Visual Quality - Grand Slam Tennis

    This may seem like a weird choice, but when you talk about Wii graphical quality, not a lot springs to mind in the last 12 months, at least of games that I’ve played. Grand Slam Tennis though has a very cool, cartoony art style which is very aesthetically pleasing.

    Best Use of Sound - Modern Warfare Reflex Edition

    Seeing as this is a port of the epic 2007 game CoD4 Modern Warfare, this version also brings the franchise’s staple chaotic but fantastic sound to Wii. Turning the sound up really heightens the excitement and the atmosphere.

    Best Multiplayer - Boom Blox Bash Party

    The original Boom Blox was one of the first console games that my Mum really got into, and we had a lot of fun playing it as a Family. While MW Reflex has great online for a Wii game and NSMBW offers the never before seen up to four player mario experience, Boom Blox has to take this award for how well it suits the Wii platform, and how it can appeal to almost anyone. There were other good multiplayer games too, but none match up in my opinion. Boom Blox can go down in Wii history as a casual game done right.

    Also notable: Modern Warfare Reflex Edition, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, F1 2009, Wii Sports Resort, Grand Slam Tennis

    Best WiiWare Game - Swords and Soldiers

    Swords and Soldiers is a very unique, stylish, side scrolling RTS game which has been really well received critically.

    Wii Game of the Year - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

    Sports games don’t often win awards outside of their own categories, if ever, but I’m going to buck that trend, even if 3DG isn’t exactly a huge site to say the least. Regardless, Tiger Woods 10 is a complete package, well designed and is a great example of how motion-plus can make Wii’s motion control useful for games other than Excite Truck / Excitebots.

    Also notable: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

    Up next: PC

     

  • Chris Till 2:40 am on December 20, 2009 Permalink
    Tags: , , ,   

    3DGalaxy 2009 Game Awards – PS3 

    PS3 2009 Awards

    Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

    Best Action Game - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

    Uncharted 2 – Among Thieves was destined to be a great action game from its inception. The game has astonishing graphics, great fun gameplay and a very engaging story. It’s simply a must play for all PS3 owners.

    Also notable: Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, inFamous, Batman: Arkham Asylum (playing soon)

    Best Fighting Game - Street Fighter IV

    In the past, I’ve never really known a lot about Street Fighter, or really played it much, if ever. I got Tekken 2 bundles with my PS1 back in the day and always just assumed that Tekken was the pinnacle of fighting games. I must admit that I’m not a fighting game expert, and while I didn’t get into the technical side of SF4, I appreciate the 2D nature of the game and the old school gameplay mixed with modern subsystems which allow many different tactics to be deployed.

    Best Music Game - The Beatles: Rock Band

    Beatles: Rock Band really stands out among a sea of cheap Guitar Hero cash-ins and while the main entrant in the series, GH5 was actually good, and metallica was good for fans of that type of music. The other GH games: Greatest Hits and Van Halen were shameful cash-ins for Activision. New entrant DJ Hero was surprisingly good but despite the fact that I haven’t played DJ Hero, from what I’ve seen of the game, it can’t compete with Beatles: Rock Band’s incredible attention to detail, great setlist and fun gameplay. The game was made with love, it was clear and that’s a great thing to see.

    Also notable: Guitar Hero 5

    Best Puzzle Game - Critter Crunch

    Critter Crunch is an incredibly stylish downloadable PSN puzzle game where you feed critters to larger ones to create chains. Controls are tight, graphics are incredible and the art style is simple irresistible.

    Best Racing Game - Dirt 2

    While Dirt 2 does effectively insult and ignore the history of Rally and what Colin McRae stood for, the fact is that it is a very well made, very fun off-road racing game in its own right. Despite playing the game on PC, it’s still undoubtedly the best driving game of the year on PS3. The only game to beat it in the genre in my opinion is Forza 3.

    Also notable: Need for Speed: Shift

    Best Shooter - Borderlands

    I’ve been agonising over this award for a while. Borderlands and Modern Warfare 2 are the main contenders although I did also play Killzone 2. KZ2 and Modern Warfare both have single player campaigns which I didn’t enjoy whatsoever. Please note that this is my own personal opinion. Borderlands, even though it’s known as a co-op game, I’ve been playing so far exclusively single player and I’ve been enjoying myself more than I thought I would do. When I go online, I’m expecting it to get even better so I’m looking forward to that.

    Also notable: Modern Warfare 2, Killzone 2

    Best Sports Game - FIFA 10

    FIFA finally got the jump on its arch rival Pro Evo Soccer this year, and in my opinion it’s richly deserved. Konami has sat back while EA have been really working hard to improve their game and make it the definitive football experience. While I’m not a huge fan of real football, I’ve always had a soft spot for the games, despite skipping about 5 years of the FIFA series up until last year. The gameplay is solid and the licenses of all the leagues and teams is a great thing in my opinion, and has always been one of the series strong points.

    Also notable: NBA Live 10

    Best Visual Quality - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

    It’s hard to argue with this, UC2 has mind blowing graphics in both gameplay and cutscenes. I’m sure I’ve never seen better, more real looking cutscenes before anywhere.

    Also notable: Killzone 2, Ratchet & Clank: ACiT

    Best Use of Sound - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

    UC2 has possibly the best voice acting ever in a video game. Nolan North is fantastic as Drake. The whole cast is brilliant. Voice acting aside, the soundtrack is perfectly suited to the game and the mood feels right when you play. Sound effects too are top notch.

    Also notable: Ratchet & Clank: ACiT, Killzone 2, Modern Warfare 2

    Best Story - inFamous

    inFamous is a very impressive open world game. While I found the difficulty to be punishing at around the mid-point in the game, I thought the story was well told and very in depth for a new IP. Other games like Batman had good stories but are less impressive mainly due to there being such a huge pool of stories to draw inspiration from.

    Also notable: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Ratchet & Clank: ACiT

    Best Multiplayer - Modern Warfare 2

    MW2 is probably the best multiplayer game of all time, and that’s not an understatement. The game is impeccably well engineered to offer not just a great gameplay experience, but also by far the best matchmaking and hosting service ever. One of the most important aspects in multiplayer gaming is how fast actually getting into the game is and how the smooth / lag free the gameplay itself is once you get there. MW2 excels in all areas, leading to the massive commercial and critical success it has garnered to this point.

    Also notable: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Killzone 2, Battlefield 1943

    Best Downloadable Game - Shatter

    This category I think is the toughest to call of all of them. It says a lot about the breadth of great games available on PSN in 2009 that I can’t pick one. In the end, I picked Shatter because it offers something rarely seen anymore in modern gaming, and that is a breakout style brick breaking game, with a twist. I could have given this category to Critter Crunch but didn’t because I felt I should share the awards around as much as possible. Flower is also fantastic and a game you can give to pretty much anyone. Fat Princess is less mainstream but very fun nonetheless. PixelJunk Shooter is a recent release and is also very good. All in all, you should get all these games.

    Also notable: Critter Crunch, Flower, Fat Princess, PixelJunk Shooter

    PS3 Game of the Year - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

    I’m sure you know by now, Uncharted 2 is incredible. It;’s won more awards that any other game and deservedly so. Pick this up, and if you don’t own a PS3 yet, now is the best time yet to grab a slim version.

    Also notable: Ratchet & Clank: ACiT, inFamous, Batman: Arkham Asylum

    Up next: Wii

     

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