What to play?

It's hot, the sun is shining, the sky is clear and for many it's a no brainer that they should be outside. However for those with a plethora of games to play through, time to do that is not always easy to come by, especially for those that don't live on the ground floor.

Whilst getting some fresh evening air is enjoyable early on, I still found myself drawn to my Xbox later on, especially as I currently have a considerable collection of games to play, and little time to play them in.

For those with an Xbox Live Gold account, this year is perhaps a better one as each month we are being treated to two free games to keep! It may not be quite on par with what PSN has to offer but to be honest, I just don't have time to complete 5 games in a month with no option to keep them, so I'm thoroughly enjoying the service thus far. At the moment, the only two games to have been awarded are Fable 3 and Defense Grid, the latter being an Xbox Live Arcade title dating back a few years. However despite the complaints that the games are either sub-par or old, I have enjoyed them thoroughly thus far. Fable 3 is essentially a continuation of the second installment with a few modifications along the way, the most noticeable being the suppression of in game menus. Though it hasn't exactly set a trend, it's a novel way of dealing with otherwise endless lists of items and upgrades, though the result is that along with it have gone customisation options. Had I bought this, the lack of customisation available compared with Fable II may have annoyed me, but as it's "free", I happily continue. The fighting is solid if a little repetitive and the story so far is compelling enough to keep me wanting to play.

I did play the hell out of Fable II rendering this experience less charming and absorbing than my first time, but it's good nonetheless and I'm impressed with the talented voice acting employed for the main roles.

Defense Grid: The Awakening is the second free game out and despite being an old XBLA game is also thoroughly entertaining. A simple premise, you defend power orbs from invading aliens by reactivating the defense grid. This is done by purchasing towers to fend off the attacking horde. Though starting you off with only a few tower options and a couple off different types of enemy, the game gradually introduces you to new weapons and creatures, all of whom have different powers and abilities. The maps also get more complicated and varied. There is little story other than to defend the seemingly abandoned planet from the invaders, however the gameplay is good enough that you'll keep going back for more. Though I have just started playing, I'm currently enjoying this more than Fable. I have always enjoyed tower defence games and the fact that it's beautifully rendered in 3 dimensional world with a multitude of colours instead of the traditions top down 2D view has me hooked.

Other than that, Halo 4 has made it's way back into my disk tray having got bored of Borderlands 2 again (it really is the same thing over and over, though I do want to finish it), after playing through the first missions on legendary with a mate. Though challenging, so far it's not been as hard as previous Halo games, and is possibly more fun as a result. I've also had another crack at multiplayer which is still just as engaging, especially the Big Team Skirmish which has you carrying out objectives as opposed to just killing.

Finally I've also purchased Crysis, recently on sale for 400 MSP during the Ultimate Game Sale. Having never really played it I'm keen to give it a go and at that price, who can resist? I also am keen to start playing Rocksmith again, though I can't see a really ideal time to play, as well as perhaps get a bit further in Ghost Recon Future Soldier in maximum difficulty. So one can see why the sun has been less of an interest recently...

E3

For those unaware, E3 started on Monday. Possibly the biggest electronics and entertainment show on earth saw some interesting and intriguing information revealed and shared. Crucially, it was the battleground of both Sony and Microsoft in their attempts to win over the consumers at the show. Both held large and elaborate press conferences showcasing their hardware, as well as their latest games, but most importantly, prices and snippets of information were shared - some of which may determine who wins at least the initial round of sales. 

Tactical Formation! 

Microsoft started the day showcasing a large number of the upcoming games arriving on its platform, a large number exclusive. Fans will be happy to see the return of Dead Rising 3, however I was most taken by new IPs Spark, a game that puts you in the shoes of a game maker and allows you to craft your own world using your controller, Kinect or smart glass, and Ryse, a game long rumoured for the 360 which has now been adapted for the One. Ryse puts you in the bootsof a Roman field commander as you lead troops to attack Barbarian fortifications. It looks incredibly pretty and the combat seems compelling. Project Spark on the other hand seems to allow you to create your own world to play in and even share with friends. Not dissimilar to the idea behind Minecraft, it seems you have a vast array of tools at your disposal to customise your world till hearts content. I appreciated the use of existing peripherals as well. Titan Fall was also announced, an exclusive futuristic shooter from ex Infinity Ward developers as well as a few indie titles and of course Halo 5. All in all, Microsoft did a good job on delivering on its promise to only showcase games - all of which seemed superior to what Sony had to offer. However, the thorn in their side, or even the bullet deeply wedged in their foot, are the DRM issues which Microsoft is adamant on keeping, as well as the high price of £429. This will put a lot of gamers off, especially considering many, myself including, don't quite understand the high price considering we never completely get full control over the games we buy. Despite a reasonably strong presentation, Microsoft still have a lot of work to do... 

A job that will be made even harder with Sony announcing not only some good new titles, including Bungie's Destiny, a 'space opera' which seems incredibly vast and compelling in scope. Though not exclusive, it does seem to get preferential treatment from Sony. The real nail in the coffin though was the near £100 cheaper price, but also the fact that Sony haven't inputted a DRM system on their own console... This means people are free to trade, lend and sell their games as the like, unlike the Xbox One where users have to respect ridiculous rules which essentially discourage any sharing. How Sony have dones this, or perhaps why Microsoft decided to input such a decision, is baffling.  The Redmond tech giants may have won over publishers with this absurd policy, but at the expense of their customers. 

The web is rife with people announcing the PS4's victory in the race for first, which may well be the case. We'll have to wait and see in November. But it is clear that despite some great looking games on the Xbox One, many won't get a chance to play them because they justifiably refuse to hand over customer liberties for no apparent reason.  

I for one have decided I'm sticking with the 360 and investing in a rather surprising choice. Whilst the section on their old console was short, Microsoft did showcase a few things for the 360 including World of Tanks, and free games for Gold members. I am considering rejoining just to get access Fable 3 for free, though the second batch are rather less appealing - Halo 3 and AC2, both of which I've had for a while. Futhermore, many of the games of the new generation will also come to the 360, albeit in older looking graphics.

The extra console I may invest in is... the 3DS. Though not a major Nintendo Fan, it appears the new Super Smash Bros is coming to the handheld. Is it worth saying much more? 

Wii Fit Trainer available...

News Round-up

Though I haven't written a post in a while, I have found the time to read through some interesting tech news.  At the moment, many eyes are pointed to E3 where all the latest games announcements are set to take place, with conferences from Microsoft, Sony, EA and so on. The two consoles will have their second unveiling since their respective initial ones. From the forums on the internet, Sony seems to have taken the lead in the two horse race, with the Xbox One receiving considerable criticism for many of its design choices, some of which seem to limit user's control. It will be interesting to see what Sony says with regards to its own console - it too may witness the wrath of the gamer horde if it says the wrong thing.

Otherwise Apple is holding its own conference in San Francisco where other than the new iOS, iRadio is to be announced/launched. Essentially its Apple's rather belated answer to Spotify, Deezer and the other music streaming services available. The tech giant does have a habit of launching a product after the herd, having taken the time to perfect it, like the iPod, iPhone... Having said that, Spotify and its competitors have been around for a considerable time now, so if Apple's intention is to compete with them, they may find it difficult. However, having iTunes and iRadio in one neat package may be appealing to some, myself included... It will be worth following to see how the implement it into their pre-existing hardware and software.

For the Windows phone users out there, Microsoft seems to be giving a slightly mixed message at the moment. Though it seems the software is no longer at the forefront of their priorities, they have announced a Halo Game exclusively for the system. Halo: Spartan Assault is a top down shooter for all Windows Phone 8 (no mention of 7) devices, with some stellar looking graphics and interesting gameplay. It's a bid to attract more users the platform, as well as developers. The Halo trick worked for the Xbox but the telephone not being a dedicated gaming machine means it may not have the same impact. Something like Angry Birds could work though...

Graphically not dissimilar to Halo Wars

It also seems a prototype of Windows Blue was discovered by a customer having bought what he initially thought was a developer kit of the Nokia 928. On his blog, he claimed that the programs for the most park worked well and that they had incorporated a notification panel to the metro tiles. It was subsequently bought back by Microsoft who even supplied the user with a brand new phone - much to his delight and surprise.

Finally, whilst this doesn't cover everything, a lot has been written about user privacy at the moment, with a number of worrying cases coming to light. Agencies around the world (USA especially) have been collecting phone data, in an attempt to combat terrorism but in what appears to be a breach of privacy. Google has also taken some slack and game consumers are concerned that Microsoft's Kinect bundled with the Xbox One is going to be listening and watching them, despite denials from the Software giant. As we put our lives online, our own privacy is becoming something we have less control over as telecoms and computer company giants store terabytes of information over us. It's a theme to be explored in more detail. It seems the faster technology progresses, the less control we have.

The Next Gen

It's now been a week since the reveal of the Xbox One and even longer since the one of the PS4. Whilst neither has done much to eliminate the rumour mill that continues to circulate around the internet, the one conclusion I have come to is that I won't be purchasing either for a good while. That is unless some huge incentives are revealed as to why I should (extremely low price, absolutely must have exclusives...)

Indeed both are shaping up to be products no one is completely happy with. Whilst Microsoft has revealed far more about its next console, Sony is keeping its remaining cards close to the suggest, though both companies have information they are yet to announce. Thus far, nothing on the Xbox has made me keen to buy it on the first day. I'm more than happy to wait and see what E3 delivers in terms of games and perhaps additions to the lineup of functions the new console will have, however I can't imagine there will be anything that revolutionary that it will warrant immediate purchase. At the end of the day, the games may look better, may have improved gameplay elements and so on, but I can't envisage a drastic re-haul of what we have already.

The Xbox 360 has a huge catalogue of games. This isn't like the end of the original Xbox where it's users were thirsty for the 360 because of the game drought that plagued the latter. The Xbox had a good but relatively small catalogue of games, which most people had played by the time the next gen launched. This time around though, I found there are so many game worlds I'm yet to discover, whose delights could keep me busy well into next year and further. I'm yet to finish Red Dead Redemption,. Rocksmith or Borderlands 2 (the latter I've gotten a little tired of). I've never picked up a Mass Effect Game (criminal I know), nor an Elder Scrolls, nor Fall Out, nor Bioshock, nor Far Cry 3, Battlefield 3 and so on. There is a big list of games I am keen to play at some point, including those mentioned in a previous article and I feel that will keep me glued to my original Xbox for a good while. On a side note, for those who feel I should have played them earlier: I bought the 360 for Halo and online Multiplayer (which wasn't omitted from the original, but I didn't have it) so was keen to play my console for those key features; what can I say I'm a social guy! As a result, I missed out on many of the great single player experiences, which I'm now keen to return to and discover.

Furthermore, many of the big publishers plan on supporting the current consoles for a few more years at least!

Going back to what we do not about the consoles, other than the fact that neither is completely enticing (I am keen to try out the motion controls on both though believe it or not), information that has been revealed has made them less appealing than more. The issue of the DRM on Xbox, and most likely on PS4 as well, whereby a game can only be played on one console (or one profile) and not on multiple ones seems annoying. Microsoft has got a lot of slack for it so far, and though Sony has yet to comment on the matter, I'd be surprised if they don't have a similar system.

Although I've made MY decision, it will be interesting to see what E3 has to offer in terms of new content. Though I won't hold my breath, I'm sure some of it will be enticing nonetheless.

The XBOX ONE

Last night (morning, afternoon, depending on where you were in the world), the next generation of Microsoft's successful gaming console was unveiled to us for the first time. Interestingly named the Xbox One, not so much because of it being a step backwards, but because of Microsoft's desire for the Xbox to be the 'One' entertainment device users adopt in their living room space for gaming, television, music and even internet browsing. It's not just a console anymore, its an all out entertainment device.

The trend started back when Microsoft launched the 360 nearly a decade ago, with the gradual inclusion of films and tv on demand, subscription based cable/satellite and so on. It seems such an inclusion has been beneficial to the teams at the tech giant, so much so that it has seen fit to launch a device which includes everything straight out of the box, at least so it would seem.

Whilst the event can be deemed a success, it also begs a lot of questions regarding the Xbox One's capabilities. It showed us live tv and the ability to switch seamlessly from it to games, to the music player, to skype and then back again, with little to no delay; all orchestrated using either the new Kinect's voice or motion control. Indeed, along with every Xbox and controller, a Kinect comes as part of the package. However, going back to the entertainment access, it is important to note Microsoft has given little to no clue as to how this will all be available. Supposedly one will have to connect whatever pre-existing top box already exists to the Xbox as well as pay a subscription for that service as well as Xbox's. Not altogether appealing but I'm going to wait before making assumptions. It does though seem like Xbox is tackeling the problem of the lost remote control, which isn't, let's be honest, a major problem.

Still not completely sold on the look - far from ugly though

On the games front, very little was shown, probably in an attempt to keep viewers keen for E3, where Microsoft will undoubtedly reveal more. They said they had a number of exclusive franchises (15), 8 of which were new. Forza 5 which will ship launch day is a continuation of the popular racing sim, which from the brief demo looked astounding and Quantum Break, a new game from Alan Wake and Max Paye devs Remedy. The latter was a video partly filmed in live action and partly game (though I was unsure if it was gameplay). It looked intriguing but so little was shown its hard to get excited. And other than a demo of the new Call Of Duty Ghosts, that was it! Not to skip over the latter, Ghosts didn't seem as revolutionary as Activision were trying to make out. There is supposedly a deeper and more compelling story written by the writer off Traffic (?). The graphics looks... good, but not revolutionary. Interestingly they compared Ghosts to MW3, Infinity Wards last game and whilst there was a major improvement, I'd be keen to see the game up against the likes of Far Cry 3.

To go back to Kinect, whilst some will feel let down that what was an optional peripheral is now compulsory, it does seem to be a vast improvement on the last one. The developers seem to have take the criticism on board and launched at the very least, a decent product. Reports have said the camera picks up movement without delay and the voice recognition technology is so good it recognises voices, even in a noisy environment. Although some may be put off, I don't feel the camera is a reason not to buy the console. It can even be used for the integrated Skype App.

All in all, whilst some gamers may feel differently, the Xbox One appears to be an interesting device which has the potential to wipe its competitors aside, much like the Wii did at launch. It has an appeal that will attract those a little on the fence because of its multiple functions and unsure of whether to buy a dedicated full price console. Either way, its an interesting experiment from Microsoft, and whilst I'm not completely sold on it (as any rational person should be), I'm in no way keen to jump ship to Sony's initially rather bland and average new though dedicated 'gaming' console. At this moment, a little patience is required to discover more about both. I may even end up eating my words about the PS4.

Red Dead: Views

In the build up to the much anticipated release of GTA V in September, a month that still seems so far off, I've been exploring the incredible world of Red Dead Redemption. Although it's been out for a good while now, I only purchased it last December (the GOTY edition which is currently only between £15 - £20 at most retailers) and have been in and out of it ever since. Whilst I have in not been drawn into it to the extent that I've been playing it every day, it's a great game to play for stints during the week - similar to GTA IV.

As it is a GOTY edition, it does include the praised Undead Nightmare addition as well as all the other DLC. I can't say I've played through either much, wanting to get more invested in the main campaign first, but the addition of Zombies is not a bad thing to the game, and developers Rockstar have done a great job of adapting it for the lore. Unfortunately, the multiplayer is slightly disappointing due to the scarcity of players, though not unsurprising considering the late stage at which I have taken up the game. I imagine many have gone back to GTA too.

Overall, the game is essentially a reskined GTA with a fresh Western look. Changes have been made along the way in many cases for the better of the game. Combat is similar, the cut scenes are very reminiscent of GTA, as it the story with a serious overarching tale with humorous and imaginative side quests thrown in as well. It all takes place in a giant sand box, populated with outlaws, gunslingers and the various fauna of the American west, much of which is hostile to your presence in this vast land.

The world it seems is in a period of transition. A once wild and uninhabited is slowly becoming populated with Americans from the east. In the search of a new life and prosperity, they have brought with the greed, violence and crime. Other than the few 'civil' strongholds placed throughout the land, the world is ruled by outlaws and bandits where thievery and murder are common place. There is a general feeling that the 'civilized' east has little or no impact in this lawless land. A feeling though that is in the process of changing.

Your character is part of that change, on the hunt for a notorious criminal he was once allied with in order to help his family and redeem his past sins. On the way he meets a wide variety of characters all trying to make some sort of life in the world they have found themselves in. Locations are generally varied, and beautifully rendered, with huge expanses to explore. Particularly appealing to me was the travel past the Mexican border to a world not dissimilar but with its own personality to it - something that comes across in the architecture of the buildings and the people. Whilst the West is still wild, it is prosperous to a degree - the people try and replicate what they know of the East in terms of dress and manner. Mexico is clearly poor, rundown and in a major period of transition.

Historically speaking, how accurate it is is another matter, a period a know little about. It does seem to draw on real events, even if sometimes rather broadly. It makes Red Dead Redemption a very interesting game, as well as being fun. Whilst there are a few issues, none of which I have covered (travel in the vast world can take a long time) it is such a brilliant game to get absorbed in even on brief play throughs that it merits all the praise it receives. In some ways it is more than just a game, but an interesting cultural and social commentary on the world of the Wild West and the attempts to tame it. Though a topic covered in films of the genre, Red Dead succeeds above them in really capturing the feel of the world and immersing you in it. Though I have yet to finish it, this may be the game of this generation, and not just because it is so brilliant at being a great game.

Happy Wars

The latest game I've started playing is not one I can admit to being entirely proud of. Happy Wars is Microsoft's first foray in the ever more popular free-to-play genre. Though gamers are required to have a gold subscription to play, other than that playing it costs nothing and not unlike similar games on mobile platforms or on PC, it is sustained by Micro Transactions. Essentially, the player can buy weapons, armour and vanity items for their assortment of characters.

A Medieval theme with a variety of locations

The main aim of the game is akin to a Battlefield: join a side, pick a class, fight your way across the map capturing points along the way to eventually destroy the enemy's principal spawn tower. The classes categories consist of warriors - your basic infantry, clerics - who have a strong attack but act as support building and healing, and mages - soldiers with longer range who employ magical abilities.

All are varied enough though I feel the game could have benefited from a fourth option. Each class has a select number of abilites, a number which increases as you progress through each level. In order to progress to learn more, you are advised to kill, capture enemy towers, help allies and build defenses.  This does encourage a certain degree of team work and some abilities can only be used with the support of allies. Clerics, despite having attack abilities, really are just a means of support and perhaps one of the more underused classes as a result - warriors and mages are far more common. Working as a large team does make the game compelling though and as a result, despite some poor reviews from others and my own reluctance to even give it a go, I have found it compelling - even if the action can be a little repetitive.

In some instances, the screen can get a little over crowded and the player may lose his/her character in the mass on troops on screen. These instances are rare and tend to occur mainly at the start and end of a game, thanks to large map design.

Happy Wars adopts a cartoonish style with unrealistic characters resembling puppets or dolls more than people and the whole thing is coated in a bright pallet of colour to match the 'happy' theme. Whilst some may find it annoying and off-putting, it should not discourage as at the end of the day, the game is still a good 30 mins of fun distraction that you don't have to invest in should you not want to.

Though I am in no way topping leader boards, I haven't felt compelled to purchase anything from the game's store. Items can be required without having to pay, using the in game currency to access random weapons via a spinning wheel. Though it's unlikely you'll find a game-changing item, most are better than the starting weaponry. Items can also be modified and upgraded should you wish to do so.

All in all, for the time I've spent on it, Happy Wars is nothing more than a fun distraction for those looking for some free and fairly solid multiplayer on the Xbox 360.