Evoland Review

Until now, I have never reviewed anything from Steam or on the PC, but I recently acquired a Steam Link and controller, opening up a whole world of cheap gaming from the comfort of my sofa!  From now on I will be covering PC titles more often, though not the latest, biggest and flashiest titles.  I am thinking more of cool indie games like Crypt of the Necrodancer, fantastic graphic adventures like The Book of Unwritten Tales, and RPG's like this one, Evoland: A short story of adventure video games evolution.

The very first version of this game came from a LudumDare competition, which is a game jam where the participants are given 48 hours to develop a game idea based around a particular theme.  The theme for that year was evolution, and so creator Nicolas Cannasse put together his game showing the progression of adventure games (more specifically, RPG's) throughout the ages.  Starting with primitive Game Boy style monochrome graphics, the player is rapidly guided through concepts like flick screen and smooth scrolling, 8bit graphics and music, turn based battles, full 3D environments, pre rendered backgrounds and HD graphics, plus a lot more in between.  Probably the games greatest strength is the way it never sits still for very long and within half an hour or so at the most you are on to the next thing.

This part of the game is very remiscent of The Legend of Zelda, though there are stretches that play like Final Fantasy as well.

Evoland is a pastiche of past games through and through, so don't expect it to have an amazing plot of characters of its own.  The story is as classic and as basic as it gets, really - an evil force is threatening the land and its up to you, the hero to stop it, with a little help from the heroine.  The default names for the two party members are Clink and Kaeris, and the the baddy is called Zephyros - that alone should be enough to tell you not to take this game too seriously.  No, Evoland is really all about the evolution gimmick, and the constant shifting of its presentation and game play styles. Because the game is very brief, and cleverly written for the most part, it works, and never becomes tiresome.  The whole thing will only take you between 4 and five hours to complete, a little longer if you decide to find all 30 of the optional hidden stars and the cards for the side game.

There was only one part that I wasn't really a fan of, and that is the games attempt to try Diablo style game play.  They never really commit to it as you don't have any skills and the "equipment" that you collect is just a joke, so the game play just comprises mashing the attack button over and over again and killing hordes of week mobs.  Hell, some would argue that's all that Diablo is, anyway.  Of course, the wise ones amongst us know better!  Just as I was starting to tire of this bit of the game however, it was over, and from there the game swiftly moved on to its climax.

Overall: 7 out of 10
Even though the game is not as vast and detailed as something like The Witcher 3, it still must have taken quite a lot of work because there are so many different art and game play styles all rolled into one.  Multiple different character sprites needed to be created, and both real time and turn based battle engines needed to programmed.  The whole game was put together by two people, so it's quite an impressive feat.  In summation, I really enjoyed my time playing Evoland, flawed though it is in places.  If you are a fan of the games it references - chiefly The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Diablo, then I heartily recommend that you spend an afternoon playing through it. There is also a sequel, where this concept has been fleshed out to last at least 20 hours.  I plan on playing it soon, so I will be sure to let you know if it manages to remain interesting for all that time. In the meantime, take care!

My favourite games of 2013

Here I am with my top ten favourite games that were released in 2013! I didn't finish all them, which is a bit naughty, so I'll have to make sure I go back to them this year before too many new ones come along.  Before I get stuck in however, here are a few notable absences - you won't find The Last of Us on here because I haven't played it yet.  Similarly there's no Batman: Arkham Origins or Fire Emblem: Awakening because I've barely started them.  Finally, Bioshock Infinite isn't on here because I simply didn't like it very much.  With that out of the way, let's see what did make the cut...

10. Pikmin 3 - Wii U
Now then, I'm actually not all that deep into the single player mode, but I have spent many hours playing the Bingo Battle mode with my brother and his family, which has cemented Pikmin 3's place in this list and ensured it will be in rotation for years to come. Bingo Battle is the perfect mix of strategic planning, chaotic scrambling, and screwing over the other guy that ensures that it's great fun to play. The five or so hours I have spent with the single player mode have been highly enjoyable, and Nintendo seems to have found the ideal mix of time pressure due to the daily limit, yet it gives players who aren't all that good at this sort of thing (me included) enough space to explore, experiment and try again if things go horribly awry.

9. Lego City Undercover - Wii U
This game came along at precisely the right time for me.  There wasn't a lot coming out for the other consoles, and the Wii U itself had been starved of software since it launched, so it desperately needed something.  Thankfully, Traveller's Tales and Nintendo teamed up to deliver a genuinely funny open world Lego game that should appeal both to adults and children.  The single player story is lengthy enough to keep you occupied for some time, but that's really just the tip of the iceberg.  There are hundreds of optional things to do and items to collect, a lot of which aren't unlocked until you get the right item in the main missions.  I hear that Lego Marvel Superheroes is even better, but I haven't had the chance to try it yet.

8. Animal Crossing: New Leaf - 3DS
I haven't picked this game up for a while now, so I expect when I finally do I will discover that a lot of my little animal buddies have moved out.  For a solid three month period though, my 3DS and my ACNL cartridge went wherever I did.  It's a very laid back, relaxing experience, and this entry in the series is arguably more of a proper game than any of the previous versions thanks to the vast array of mini games you can play on the tropical island.  That's just one of many things to keep you occupied - town planning, regular bug and fishing contests, random visits from shady art dealers and confused seagulls - all charmingly written by the Treehouse team at Nintendo.  The ideal portable experience!

7. Super Mario 3D World - Wii U
Now, the reason that this game is only in seventh place on my list is because I am not enjoying it as much as the absolutely mind blowing pair of Super Mario Galaxy titles that came out on the original Wii. The basic idea is just not as fresh, it being based around Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS.  That being said, there is still a lot of creativity in the levels, from the new suits like the cat suit and the double cherry, to the wide range of different environments and task for you to complete.  Finding all the green stars, the stamps and landing on the top of the flag pole with every character is quite the challenge, but definitely rewarding if you have the skill for it!

6. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - PlayStation 3
This is one of the games on my list that remains unfinished, which is a terrible crime as it's so good.  I spent a good deal of 2012 looking forward to this - an interactive Studio Ghibli movie with RPG mechanics!  I did spend a solid 40 hours playing it, and loved every minute of it.  The graphics are absolutely stunning, the soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi is sublime, and the game play is solid if a little traditional.  It seems like great JRPG's like this one only come along a few times a year these days.  We were lucky to get two of them in 2013, another of which you will find further down this list!

5. Tomb Raider - Xbox 360
The Tomb Raider reboot did play quite a lot like the Uncharted series, but in my opinion it was a better game than Nathan Drake's series.  The skillful writing by Rhianna Pratchett ensured that the game was much more believable, even though Lara had pretty much become a gun toting bad ass by the end.  Traversing the world and finding all the hidden collectibles was a fun diversion, and I even spent a little while doing this after I'd finished the main plot (though I didn't get everything).  I'm looking forward to the next entry in the revived franchise now.

4. Grand Theft Auto 5 - Xbox 360
Now here's a game that I actually did manage to finish - and it's a GTA game too!  That's the very first time that I've ever got to the end of one of them (not counting The Ballad of Gay Tony or The Lost and the Damned, as they were quite short). What Rockstar managed to achieve on the ageing Xbox 360 and PS3 was stunning, and some of the design from Red Dead Redemption has trickled down into this series for it's overall betterment.  I still prefer Red Dead by quite a large margin because I don't find it to be as cynical and bitter in tone compared to certain sections of GTA 5, but it is a remarkable achievement nonetheless.

3. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Xbox 360
Ooops, another game I didn't quite get around to finishing.  I wasn't far off though.  This is one game where I do want to try and do 100% of everything though, as it is such fun doing piratey things like sailing your brig across the vast ocean, plundering ships for their cargo, harpooning great white sharks and digging up buried treasure.  Some of the on land mechanics that have been present in every Assassin's Creed are definitely starting to show their age, though on the open sea the game is a pure joy to play.  I am very interested to see in which direction the series will go next, and if the rumours of a spin off pirate game are true!

2. Path of Exile - PC
I love Diablo style loot 'em ups, and in 2013 Grinding Gear Games gave us one for free.  It features everything you would expect from a full price release - seven character classes, tons of levellable skill gems, a truly vast passive skill tree, and three sizable acts to play through.  The whole game has been designed to be replayable as well, with the random map and item generation that you've come to expect from the best games of this type, in addition to a large range of optional ladder leagues with which to challenge yourself and others.  There's enough game in here to keep anyone occupied for months, and you don't have to spend a single penny to get it!  That's deserving of second place in my book.

1. Bravely Default - 3DS
Another game that I'm only about halfway through, though I think I can be forgiven this time around because it only came out in mid December.  Poor players in the US don't get in until February of this year!  I did debate whether or not it had come out too soon for me to feasibly place it in first place on my list, but I think it should be permitted as it is the game I have enjoyed the most in 2013 by far.  Very much a traditional Final Fantasy game in the vein of FF V or FF VI in all but name, it sees you take control of your four warriors of light and set off on a quest to restore the crystals.  There is a vast range of jobs that you can assign your characters, roughly half of which are unlocked by completing side missions, and some innovative uses of StreetPass and sleep mode.  Now that I'm back at work and commuting every day, I will be playing the rest of this game - I urge anybody who misses the "golden years" of Final Fantasy to do the same!

Game Diary: Everybody's got one

The world is full of arseholes.  Arseholes who insult a random passer by just because they happened to cross their path.  Arseholes who start ranting at the conductor on the train home to turn the air conditioning off and then start swearing and ranting at the other passengers when they don't get their own way.  Arseholes at work who try and place the blame on you when it is very clear that they are the root of the problem. Arseholes on the internet who send game directors death threats when they announce their game is going to be a Wii-U exclusive.

Yes folks, this week has been quite a week.  You know, many people claim that video games promote and encourage violent behaviour - actually, if I didn't have them as an outlet for all the pent up anger and hatred that these arseholes have engendered throughout the day, I would probably have resorted to murder and/or suicide by now.  Games like the wonderful Torchlight 2 and Borderlands 2, which are the focus of this weeks article.

Firstly, Torchlight 2.  I have long been a champion of this game for several reasons.  Firstly, I loved the original both on the PC and on XBLA because it neatly filled a Diablo 3 shaped hole at the time, and was a good game with plenty of its own good ideas to boot.  Secondly, it was only $15. A few things held it back from being a top tier game - the lack of multiplayer and the difficulty level which was too easy even on the toughest setting. Both of these things have been addressed, with the sequel now supporting up to 6 players, and multiple difficulty settings each more demanding than the last.  I initially went for Normal, but after a few hours it wasn't really doing it for me so I started a new character on Veteran.  This offers a satisfying challenge throughout Act I of the game and then proceeds to ramp up significantly throughout Act II to the point where I was dying dozens of times in a particular dungeon.

This isn't really an issue though because there is no wear and tear on equipment to worry about, and with smart use of Waypoint Portals you can negate any death penalty completely. Bosses also retain the same amount of health if you die and return, which means you can win simply by whittling away at their health bar with each life.  This is probably my one main complaint with the game so far, because this takes away any need for skill from the boss battles. In Diablo 3, if you die during a boss fight you will have to do the whole thing again, so you need to stay on your toes, use your skills properly and stay alive. As a result, when you do finally defeat them it feels extremely satisfying.  The way Torchlight 2 is designed means it's more of a war of attrition and the only thing you're likely to be thinking is "thank god that fight is over".

I do like the character classes though - of which there are four - and you can play them in several different ways, too.  For example as an Outlander you can choose to dual wield pistols, pack a shotgun, carry a cannon or wield a bow.  Each of these have their own abilities on the skill tree. Myself, I went for the shotgun option, because although it has a short range and slow firing rate it packs a punch and damages multiple enemies at once.  Plus it's just so satisfying to blow the shit out of a bunch of skeletons or annoying little rat guys!

Now for Borderlands 2.  I only completed the original game about a month ago so it is still fairly fresh in my mind.  You get a bit set in your ways towards the end of the game and used to being incredibly overpowered, so going back to a weak character and coming up against far smarter enemies is something of a shock initially. You can't help but notice how great the game looks though, much much prettier than the first game.

I think the writer of the game thinks he is much funnier than he actually is - or maybe my sense of humour just doesn't match up to his.  I found the opening sections of the game with a lot of dialogue from Clap Trap and Handsome Jack to be more annoying than laugh out loud funny.  Most of the funny bits in the first game were quite subtle - things that quests had you doing or the odd one liner from an NPC.  This time everything is much more in your face, and I find it all a little bit overdone.

The game is still fun regardless, and of course laying waste to dozens of bandits or bullymongs with the ludicrous weapon of your choice is the perfect antidote when the many arseholes of the world start to get you down!  I will hopefully be back soon with the second part of my promised Level-5 developer profile.  In the meantime, I have people to shoot, weapons to loot!

Hidden Gems 2012: The Horde

Title: The Horde
Format: PC, 3DO, Sega Saturn
Genre: Action/Strategy
Expect to pay: £5 - £15

It has been quite some time since my last Hidden Gems entry, but I wanted to highlight this game in particular because I spent many enjoyable hours playing it over and over on my PC circa 1994 when the game was released.  The game, developed by Toys For Bob, who have most recently had great success with Skylanders, is a kind of fusion of the strategy and action genres.  Your character is tasked with protecting his farm from the titular Horde, and you do so by first setting down barricades and traps, as well as planting trees and crops and expanding your land.  You only have a fixed amount of time to prepare for the inevitable onslaught of ugly purple monsters, at which point you have to race around and killing them all.  Should all your livestock, buildings and crops be decimated, it's game over.  Then the whole process repeats again, only the Horde gets tougher, with more varied enemy types and in higher numbers.

The game had great graphics and sound for its day, and sure it is showing its age today but the gameplay still holds up.  In many ways this is the precursor to the Horde mode featured in Gears of War 2 and adopted by pretty much every shooter that has come out since.  Unfortunately getting the game to run on a PC may take a bit of effort at the moment as you have to use DOS Box - it hasn't been released on Good Old Games or Steam as of yet.  If you happen to have a 3DO or Sega Saturn you may want to consider picking up this title for one of those systems - a quick glance on eBay reveals that the game is not that hard to come by and shouldn't set you back more than £15 at the very most.  If you do get the chance to try The Horde, make sure you don't pass it up - and if this post has piqued your interest you can watch a brief clip of the game running below.  I hope to have more Hidden Gems for you in the not too distant future.

Assassin's Creed II + Brotherhood double review

Over the last couple of months I have played through both Assassin's Creed II and its follow up, Brotherhood, with only a few days between ending one and starting the other. As they are so similar mechanically, and Brotherhood is really an extension of the AC II storyline, I've decided to review both games at once. I may also follow this up with a summary of the DLC packs that have been released for both games. So now, let's take a stab at summing up two of the finest games of recent memory...

Format: Xbox 360 (also on PS3 and PC)
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Expect to pay: £15 to £20 (maybe a little more if you want the special editions with DLC included)

Graphics: 9 out of 10
The original Assassin's Creed was definitely a pretty game when it was released, but the two releases that comprise Ezio's story so far take things to another level in terms of scope and detail. Firstly, in AC II you have the sheer variety of Italian towns and cities to explore, including Florence, Venice and your fortified hideout at Montereggioni. Then in Brotherhood the action is transported to Rome, and it initially feels like a step backwards to set the new game in just one city instead of the multitude from before. However, Rome is a huge place and each district has its own features and lighting to help set it apart from the others.

You also have various set pieces throughout the game that take you outside of the capital for brief sections of time, such as the missions that have you controlling an ancient tank prototype or manning an early machine gun on the back of a horse and cart. These add some much needed variety to the game and are quite spectacular to take part in. I can't really say that Brotherhood is any prettier than AC II as it is so obviously running on the the same engine and lot of the same textures are reused. This doesn't detract from the experience in a big way though as there is still a ton of variety in the game play, unlike the first game in the series which suffered greatly from its small range of mission types that were constantly repeated.

Sound and Music: 9 out of 10
Firstly I absolutely have to say just how amazing Jesper Kyd's musical score is on these games. Throughout both stories, he conjures up a soundtrack that would be worthy of the very best movie, with a strong theme flowing throughout the many compositions. Though much like the graphics some of the music in Brotherhood has been reused from AC II, much of it is still new or remixed in some fashion. It was a pleasure upon completing both games to sit and watch the credits scroll past, as it meant you got the opportunity to listen to the music is all its glory.

The voice work in these games is of a similarly high standard, as Ubisoft have hired genuine Italian actors to play the parts, ensuring that the accents are authentic and don't sound phony like so many games do. For extra authenticity you can even have full Italian voice overs and keep the English subtitles, though even if you have the game set to English the characters still lapse into the odd bit of Italian from time to time (mostly when there's swearing involved). There are a few celebrity voices amongst the cast including Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Elle from Heroes), Nolan "Nathan Drake" North and the UK's very own author and DJ, Danny Wallace. The final component in this category, the sound effects, are also on par with the rest of the game as sword strikes, shots from your hidden pistol, and Borgia towers exploding all sound exactly as you would hope.

Game Mechanics: 8 out of 10
As I've already touched upon briefly the first Assassin's Creed was a decent game that suffered from repetition in a big way. There were only a handful of different mission types that you would repeat over and over again from one city to the next. The developers had quite a momentous task in building the first game, and it would appear that the temptation to just get the game out of the door became too much and they released it before it was quite ready for public consumption.

Assassin's Creed II takes everything that worked from the original game and layers on many new things to do, cities to visit, and people to stab. The main story itself is fairly lengthy and varied - on top of this a short while into the game you are given a whole town to develop (Montereggioni). This is entails renovating buildings and shops, buying paintings to hang in your villa and more. The more money you put in the more cash is generated every 20 minutes, more than enough to keep you stocked up with the latest armour, weapons and vital healing potions.

By far the most enjoyable part of both this and Brotherhood are the optional breaks that you can take to do a spot of tomb raiding. These linear stages play out like something from Prince of Persia (both games share similar climbing/platforming mechanics). Sometimes these levels can be a test of your controller dexterity, others are more combat focused, and some are a mixture of both types. Your reward for completing all six in both games are some nice achievement points and access to the best armour in the game. Brotherhood takes things one step further and introduces new criteria that you need to fulfill in order to achieve 100% synchronisation, which not only applies to these tomb stages but to every memory (mission) in the game. They can include things like using a particular weapon to take town your target, finishing a mission within a time limit, or not losing any health. You can earn some more achievement points and a special item if you manage to 100% every mission in the game (including optional ones) but it isn't required to see the end of the story.

Both games also include hidden codes on particular buildings left behind by subject 16, another person who was forced to relive the memories of his ancestors by the Templar owned Abstergo corporation. These puzzles usually aren't too taxing, and often involve a little bit of trial and error. Successfully completing them unlocks a brief movie snippet which gradually builds up into a longer clip that teases some of the secrets behind the story of the games. Now I'm going to cover a couple of things that set Brotherhood apart from the previous title: namely the ability to enlist assassin recruits and the multi player.

After around four "segments" (chapters) into the game you can start recruiting potential assassins from the general populace and train them to be efficient killers. You first have to help them fight off the guards that are assaulting them, then once you have saved their life they will join your cause. From that point on you can send them on missions at any pigeon coup or your home base on Tiber Island. Recruits start at level 1 and go up to 10 before being embraced by the order completely and taking part in their initiation ceremony. The missions themselves are chosen from a list that vary in difficulty from one to five points, and when you select a recruit you can clearly see the likelihood of them completing their mission successfully and indeed surviving. To increase the chances of success you can send up to five recruits at once, and should they come back having achieved their goals (which takes a given number of minutes) they will each get a share of XP towards their next level. Sometimes rare items will also be awarded, many of which are used to unlocked certain armour and weapon sets from vendors.

The most useful aspect of having your recruits is the ability to summon them in the field and have them take out your targets for you. The amount of recruits you can send into combat at any time is tied to the number of Borgia towers that you've destroyed, up to three at a time maximum. A quick press of LB will call them into to take on whichever enemies you've currently got targeted. If you have all three pips charged and ready to go, holding down LB for longer triggers an arrow storm move where multiple enemies are shot down quickly. The recruits will earn some XP when you summon them as well, but not as much as sending them off on missions. As they progress through the levels you can equip them with better armour and weapons, thus increasing their effectiveness. It's a great mechanic that adds another layer of depth to the game.

The other thing that differentiates Brotherhood from the second game in the series is the addition of multi player. There are a variety of game modes including solo and team based games, but basically they all involve hunting down your fellow players and killing them as quietly and inventively as possible. Simply rushing straight towards your target and leaping at their neck will earn you the bare minimum reward, but by carefully stalking your prey or using special abilities you can earn much more. There are 50 levels to progress through and each one unlocks something, be it an ability, a new character skin or something else. Abilities include disguising yourself as a different character model for a brief spell of time, or using a hidden pistol.

I did find the multi player a bit unbalanced for low level players (I've got up to level 8 so far) because those who had already reached level 50 had access to abilities such as poison that allows them to kill you without getting anywhere near you, and an ability that allows your target to see who's coming after them. There were many times that I would be carefully trying to deduce which of several similar looking people I was supposed to kill, only for them to hit me (thus losing the contract). The other problem I had is something that effects many multi player games that aren't Call of Duty or Halo - the number of people playing starts to get a bit thin on the ground after a while. I found it hard to find a match unless I was playing at peak times. So my advice, if you want to check out the multi player mode of Brotherhood, is to either check it out right now while there's still people playing it, or just wait until Revelations is released which will include a refined version of it.

Innovation and Cleverness: 8 out of 10
Ubisoft got the traversal mechanics just right with the first game in the series, but the game felt empty and I lost interest before the end. By introducing so many new aspects to Assassin's Creed II, they've crafted one of the finest open world games of recent years. Then with Brotherhood they've done it again. The Borgia towers, the recruits and the multi player all shake things up once again and help to keep the experience feeling very fresh, despite essentially using the same engine as before.

Value and Replayability: 8 out of 10
There is a decent amount of content in both games. I would say that the main story mode of Brotherhood is somewhat shorter, but on the other hand the amount of optional missions has increased so on the whole they're about even. Then the multi player mode gives you a whole other type of experience to try out, and it works pretty well. It certainly makes a refreshing change from playing another FPS online.

Overall: 9 out of 10
Ubisoft has made turning out a new game in this franchise every year appear almost effortless. When you look at the amount of stuff crammed into each game and how polished they feel, it's actually quite amazing what they've achieved (especially compared to Duke Nukem Forever). Today you can pick up both of these games in editions that also include their DLC for less than the price of one new release, and they're definitely well worth it. I have great confidence that Assassin's Creed: Revelations will develop the franchise even more, and I look forward to the eventual release of Assassin's Creed III even more. I wonder which time period we will be in next?

Fallout: New Vegas review

With Fallout: New Vegas, Bethesda have handed the reins of the franchise over to Obsidian Entertainment for this latest edition in the series. They are a good match because many members of Obsidian actually worked on the first two games, including the director of this game, Chris Avellone. Many of the ideas that would have gone into the first abandoned version of Fallout 3 have been resurrected here, such as the Roman Empire wannabes that go by the name of Caesar's Legion.

In Fallout: New Vegas, you play the part of a courier who has been shot in the head and left for dead by Benny, just one of many characters in the Nevada wasteland who are trying to get hold of the package you were trying to deliver - a platinum poker chip. After being rescued by a mysterious cowboy robot that goes by the name of Victor and being patched up by the doc in the small town of Goodsprings, you dust yourself down and set out to piece together why you were betrayed and the current whereabouts of Benny. Or, you could just ignore the plot and explore the world at your leisure - this is a Fallout game after all and this one in particular offers more freedom than ever before. However, it would seem this freedom comes with a price, and that is poor quality control, as New Vegas suffers from a plethora of bugs both benign and game breaking. More on this later.

Format: Xbox 360 (Also available on PS3 and PC)
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Expect to pay: Around £20

Graphics: 7 out of 10
While you could argue that as the game is running on the same engine as Fallout 3 and therefore the graphics are almost identical, meaning that I should award it the same score, there's really no getting away from the fact that the Gamebyro engine is starting to show its age. NPCs still have the same glassy eyed, plastic faced expressions they did almost five years ago in Oblivion, so I hope after this that the engine is going to be retired, and that Fallout 4 when it appears will make use of the new one being developed for Skyrim.

Despite many of the monsters being repeated from Fallout 3, there are also quite a few new ones, including the absolutely disgusting Cazadors - huge bugs that do obscene amounts of damage and poison you as well - and chimeras - dog/snake hybrids. Moving on to the world map and the environment, it initially looks smaller than that of Fallout 3, but there is easily just as much content present here as there was before. A lot of the locations don't seem to have much purpose at present however - whereas most locations has something to do or find in the last game, this time there were many places that seemed to be of little interest. Some of these may be related to future DLC, time will tell.

Sound and Music: 8 out of 10
The music in Fallout: New Vegas is the same mixture of classic tunes from the 40's and 50's and a more cinematic score by composer Inon Zur when you have the radio switched off, and the actual music itself is great. There just isn't enough of it by a long chalk, especially when you consider how many hours the game could take you to complete. If you keep the radio on you will hear the same few songs over and over and over again, and the announcements from Mr New Vegas also seem to repeat more often than those in Fallout 3. PC owners have a distinct advantage over console players in this regard as there are mods out there that add new radio stations with 100 or more new songs to listen to.

Obsidian have gone for another all star cast for this game, and this time the recognisable talent includes: Matthew Perry (Chandler from Friends), Felicia Day (The Guild), Zachary Levi (Chuck), Danny Trejo (Machete) and Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica), besides Ron Perlman who returns as the narrator yet again. All of them do a very solid job and don't sound like they're just trying to say "Hey, listen to me, I'm Mr Famous Guy sounding just like I do on that show/film you watch!". As for sound effects, a lot of the them are reused from Fallout 3 but there are plenty of additions for the new horrible critters you encounter and are very well done across the board.

Game Mechanics: 8 out of 10
Now, a lot of the mechanics of Fallout: New Vegas remain pretty much the same as in Fallout 3, so rather than repeating myself I will mainly focus on what's been tweaked or added for this game, and direct you to my review of the previous title for the rest. The first thing which is small but significant addition is true iron sights. Now you can finally look down the sights of you weapon of choice and actually stand a chance of hitting your intended target outside of VATS combat, which makes the whole thing more interesting straight away.

Another good addition are the various factions that you can align yourself with throughout the game, including major players like Mr House, the NCR and Caesar's Legion, as well as smaller groups like the Boomers, the Great Khans and the Powder Gangers. As you complete quests for these factions or kill their members, you standing with them will increase or decrease and will have an impact on the ending of the game. Conversely though, while the Karma system is still present in this game, it is almost meaningless this time around and has little effect on the game.

There is also a new Hardcore mode in the game, which changes various aspects - ammo has weight, you have sleep and dehydration meters that have to be monitored, and stimpaks won't heal broken limbs, only doctors bags or a visit to an actual physician will do. These things all change the gameplay up considerably, as you can't just loot every bit of ammo you see, and have to rely on food and water far more heavily than you do otherwise. It adds an extra layer of realism for those who are looking for it and can definitely seen as a good thing.

What is definitely not a good thing however, is the amount of bugs present in this game. I had put around 40 hours of play time into the game when I suddenly started getting a random message about some DLC being missing and then being dumped back to the main menu. This effected all of my saves and prevented me from playing the game as that character entirely. It was towards the end of October when this started happening and it wasn't until the release of the first DLC, Dead Money, on December 21st that it was finally fixed. That's almost two months where I was unable to use the product I had paid money for, and to rub salt into the wound the game went down to £20 during that time as well. I seriously considered giving the game a 5 or a 6 overall because of the serious nature of this bug, but new players won't encounter it any more. That's not to say there aren't still a variety of other bugs left to be fixed, because there is. I will definitely think twice about buying another game developed by Bethesda or Obsidian on the day it's released in future!

Innovation and Cleverness: 6 out of 10
Some reviewers have criticised this game as being little more than expansion pack to Fallout 3, but I feel that is being extremely harsh, as the tweaks to the gameplay have changed things quite a bit. The engine definitely feels somewhat creaky, but Obsidian are certainly working it hard (quite literally to breaking point unfortunately).

Value and Replayability: 8 ouf of 10
Fallout: New Vegas is just as huge as its predecessor but because you can finish the game and see four different distinct endings depending on your path, plus many other more subtle variations depending on how you've finished certain quests, it offers far more scope for experimentation and replay. This is the greatest addition that Obsidian have made in my opinion as it's really interesting to help defend the town of Goodsprings and hand the strip over to the NCR on one hand, and then take over the town for the Powder Gangers and overthrow the entire area for Caesar's Legion on the other.

Overall: 8 out of 10
While the additions made to the gameplay are all good, on the whole I didn't quite enjoy Fallout: New Vegas as much as Fallout 3. I think the overall tone had something to do with this, as the last game was very scary and atmospheric for a lot of the time and this one felt a bit sillier overall. There are far less encounters with feral ghouls and super mutants this time around (though they are certainly present) which I also kind of missed. Then of course there are the bugs, and I can't let them slide without a minor penalty of some kind. So all this combined means that New Vegas deserves one point less than the previous game. See the clip below to see one of the sillier bugs in the game!

Torchlight review

A new year sees the first of hopefully many new reviews for 2010, with Runic Games Torchlight being the subject of scrutiny this time around. This has been hailed by many as the spiritual successor of Diablo 2, and it's fairly easy to see why just by glancing at screen shots of the game. Several members of Runic even worked on Blizzard's highly regarded series. That's not to say that this game doesn't bring anything new to the table, however...

Format: PC
Publisher: Runic Games
Developer: Runic Games
Genre: Action RPG
Expect to pay: $19.95 (about £16)

Graphics: 8 out 0f 10
Torchlight boasts a bright, cartoony visual style somewhat similar to World of Warcraft, and it manages to look good while being able to run on even the most modest of PC's. My laptop with it's integrated graphics chipset can run the game with all the settings turned to maximum - a fairly rare event these days, and there's even a "Netbook mode" check box in the options menu to help out those with underpowered systems.

Technical aspects aside though, Torchlight also boasts great design, from the monsters to the various different layers of the dungeon. Every 4 or so floors (after a boss battle) the tileset shifts to a different style, moving through such environments as a mine, a tropical jungle (not quite sure how this got underground or how it's raining, but never mind), a dwarven fortress complete with moats of lava and more. New areas mean new monster types as well, from ratlings and spiders, through to pygmies (annoying little bastards) and a legion of undead dwarves. You will also randomly encounter named boss monsters which are much bigger than the regular type and sport a glowing aura, as well as being stronger and dishing out more damage than your standard fodder, as you would expect.

The game also features some very nice atmospheric lighting and particle effects - monsters often explode in a hugely satisfying shower of gore. All in all it just goes to show that you can deliver a very good looking game without insisting that players upgrade to the latest behemoth of a PC first.

Sound and Music: 7 out of 10
The composer of the Diablo and Diablo 2 soundtracks, Matt Uelman, returns to write the music for Torchlight the moment you hear the town theme you will absolutely know it is him, as he has used exactly the same style and instruments to invoke memories of Tristram. That's not to say that the whle soundtrack is a clone of the Diablo games - the music starts to diversify once you get deeper down into the dungeon, but the town theme is that main piece that sticks in the memory.

Voice work is competent but not amazing - as you would expect for a fairly low budget game. Aside from the storyline voice overs, you are also prompted by your character when your health or mana is running low (which has saved my life a fair few times as I've been too engrossed in the battle to notice I'm almost dead) and when your pet is fleeing (more on that in a moment). Spot effects for monsters and spells are decent enough but nothing to make you go "wow"!

Here you can see the Destroyer class squishing some enemies with his stomp attack

Game Mechanics: 8 out of 10
For the most part the underlying mechanics of Torchlight are the same as the venerable Diablo games, but with a few notable additions. Basically, your character is freshly arrived in the town at the beginning of the game, having been drawn there by the promise of riches thanks to the thriving Ember mines underneath the town. Little does anyone realise however, that the mines hide terrible secrets, and the townsfolk have begun to dig too deep, and too greedily. It soon falls to you to venture into the Ember mines and beyond in order to free the town of its terrible curse.

At the start of the game, the player can choose from 3 classes - the Destroyer, Alchemist or Vanquisher, which basically boil down to the age old archetypes of warrior, mage and rogue. Once you've chosen your class and name, you also get to choose a pet - either a dog or a cat - that will a big help to you throughout the game. They will help you in combat, you can load them up with with excess loot and send them back to town, you can feed them various fish to transform them into other temporary forms, and they can equip their own spells. I chose a cat for my Vanquisher character who was equipped with a Haste spell so he could run at double speed, and a Summon Zombies spell so I always had my own posse of undead helping me out.

As you level up, you can add points into various stats such as magic, defense etc - your equipment often relies on you having a certain number of points in these stats, so when an amazing new gun drops you may not have the skills to equip it straight way. Not to worry, you can put it in the stash in town and increase the required stat as you level up, though you might find an even better weapon along the way, such is the random nature of the game. Not only are the loot drops randomised, but so are the dungeon layouts). Levelling happens fairly frequently - usually at least once a floor, so it's a fairly fast paced game, and your always being enticed to play just a little bit longer to see if another even better piece of weaponry or armour drops. Those who can't afford to spend hours at a time playing the game can still dip in for a while and then leave again thanks to the tried and true Town Portal system and the fact that the game remembers exactly where you were when you shut it down.

Your character has two types of experience meter - normal experience and fame. Fame is only gained when you defeat a random or end of area boss. Upon each level up (character level and fame level) you get the opportunity to spend one point on your talents - these range from powerful attack spells, temporary buffs, the ability to have various minions (in addition to your pet) or passive skills that for example reduce the amount of time that your pet takes to get to town and back. There are skills that only apply to each class, and others that are open to all classes but at different times (the alchemist for example gets access to the pet skill I just mentioned much sooner than the Vanquisher).

I recommend that you skip the Normal difficulty setting and go straight to Hard, because Normal offers almost no challenge at all until you get to the final boss. Hard is much more enjoyable because it offers more of a challenge, plus the loot is better as a result. Should you happen to die in battle you have several options - either be transported back to town for no penalty and make your own way back to where you were, take a cash penalty and start at the beginning of the current floor, or take an experience and fame penalty and go back exactly where you died. I almost always took the second option, as I had tons of spare cash thanks to picking up every single bit of loot and sending my pet back to sell it. There is also the Hardcore option - should you tick this box death is permanent and your character will be erased. It can be fun just to see how far you can get before biting the dust.

Upon completing the main story of the game (about 36 floors of the dungeon) you are given several options. You can carry on levelling and doing random quests in the Shadow Vault - a never ending series of randomly generated dungeons, or you can retire your character. Doing so allows you to choose one item as an heirloom to hand down to your next character, and it also boosts the stats of said item slightly.

A Vanquisher, facing off against a horde of Dwarven Wights.

Innovation and Cleverness: 6 out of 10
Torchlight does bring some nice ideas to the table such as the multiple options for the player upon death. I would say that the pet idea was a big innovation - were it not for the fact that it was actually implemented in the previous game by the game team - Mythos. For the most part though Torchlight is a great example of a Diablo style game, and it truer to its inspiration than many of the games that have come since such as Titan Quest.

Value and Replayability: 8 out of 10
The amount that you can replay Torchlight really depends on how repetitive you find the game. It can start to get a little samey after a while, but played in small doses it remains fun. Think of it as a light RPG snack between main meals like Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2, if you will. The price of the game is a big factor in this category of course - at £16 the game is well worth the money.

Overall: 7 out of 10
If you've been eagerly awaiting Diablo 3 then Torchlight should serve to placate your need for a hack and slash RPG, for a little while at least. If there was a multi player mode then the game would be even more enjoyable of course, but at present there is nothing. A full on MMO sequel to the game is in the works but we're not likely to see it until around 2012. A powerful editing/modding tool has been made available to the community, and it will be interesting to see what type of thing that people manage to come up with. So far I've only downloaded a few additional quest givers for the Shadow Vault, but given time I expect some enterprising soul with too much time on their hands will come up with a total conversion.

The Christmas Gaming Gift Guide 2009 Part 3: Budget titles

Time is marching on and this third and final part of my Christmas Gaming Gift Guide is going up later than I had originally planned, but I am back at last to hopefully give you 10 more ideas of what to get for the gamer in your life or indeed something to treat yourself to with any money you may receive over the festive period. This time I am looking at budget titles, and as well as boxed retail games I'm also including downloadable titles in this part. My definition of a "budget" game is £20 or less.

Trine - PS3 (PlayStation Network), PC (Steam) - Out Now - £16.99

Trine is a mixture of platformer, RPG and puzzle game with some fantastic graphics, solid physics and plenty of quality gameplay for your money. In single player you can switch between warrior, mage and rogue characters at will, each of which have their own skills and abilities. For example the mage can conjour up a wooden box to climb on, the rogue has a grappling hook she can use to swing around the levels and the warrior uses brute force to tackle the many enemies wandering around. In multi player these roles can be filled by two other human players working in tandem to reach the end of the stage.

Dead Space - Xbox 360 - Out Now - From £10 (best price)

EA's combination of third person shooting and survival horror is a quality title that can now be found for a bargain price. You play the part of Isaac Clarke, sent as part of a team to fix the communications on board a mining station. Soon after docking however, it soon transpires that something terrible has happened to the crew, and armed only with mining equipment you must venture deeper into the darkness before you are able to escape.

Shadow Complex - Xbox 360 (Live Arcade) - Out Now - 1600 points normally, 800 points between December 21st - 27th

Chair, the developers of Shadow Complex, have taken the relatively niche "Metroidvania" genre and brought it right up to date thanks to some clever game design and the Unreal engine. When your girlfriend gets snatched while exploring a cave, it's up to you to investigate the military complex hidden within in an attempt to get her back. Despite offering fantastic 3D graphics, the game actually plays out on a 2D plain and plays much like the classic Metroid or Castlevania games of old, which is a good thing.

MotorStorm Arctic Edge - PSP - Out Now - £17.99

This latest outing for the MotorStorm series is every bit as good as the two games on the PS3, except now of course you can take it on the road and play whenever you have a free moment. Graphically it stands up to its brethren remarkably well, and although there are fewer courses they are all as well designed as ever, with multiple routes and some stunning scenery. If you love arcade driving games then you definitely need to give this a spin.



NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits - Wii (Wiiware) - Out Now - 1000 points

This game has been available for quite some time already but may have been overlooked, which is a shame as it's a fantastic platformer with a unique visual style and some well implemented motion controls. You can point at blocks to lift them up and and assist you in your journey through the game, for example. It's not the longest game in the world by any means but you definitely get your moneys worth

House of the Dead: Overkill - Wii - Out Now - £10.98 (on sale at Gameplay.co.uk)

If you're a fan of the Planet Terror half of Grindhouse then you should definitely take a look at Sega's latest entry to their House of the Dead franchise. This Wii exclusive features plenty of gore, bad taste humour and a character who is obviously based on Samuel L Jackson, constantly dropping F bombs throughout the game. The game can be finished fairly quickly but by doing so you unlock a harder "directors cut" version of the game with slightly different cut scenes and even more zombies to shoot.

Shatter - PS3 (PlayStation Network) - Out Now - £4.79






Shatter is a Breakout/Arkanoid style bat and ball game with cool style, fantastic soundtrack and some clever new ideas for what was a rather tired genre. Levels are orientated both horizontally and vertically, you can suck the ball, power ups and bricks or blow them away from you, and the curved nature of your bat allows you to put spin on the ball, allowing for more precise control. Considering that you get all this for under a fiver, Shatter really is a steal and deserves to be part of every PS3 owners collection.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - Xbox 360 - Out Now - From £10 (best price)

Rares third game in the Banjo series is a bit of a departure from the 3D platformers of old, as it focuses more on vehicular challenges. You can either use of the preset blueprints built into the game or construct your own contraption using the various parts that you can earn throughout the game. While I don't think this quite lives up to the first two games, it is a worthwhile purchase for a tenner and a refreshing change from all of the grim first person shooters that are doing the rounds at the moment.

1 vs 100 - Xbox 360 (Live) - Out Now - Free with a gold subscription

Now this might seem a bit of an odd choice, but 1 vs 100 on Xbox Live is extremely good fun (especially with friends) and as long as you have a gold subscription to Xbox Live it won't cost you a penny. Why spend money on quiz games like Buzz or Scene It when this really offers everything that you need? The only downside is that you have to play at certain times of day - i.e. "Primetime" (7pm to 9.30pm).

Scribblenauts - Nintendo DS - Out Now - £14.98 (from Gameplay.co.uk)

Although the promise of Scribblenauts wasn't fully realised (the controls are unfortunately a bit broken) it still offers hours of fun just inputting random words and seeing how they are realised by the game. There are plenty of puzzle and action levels to work your way through (which have to be completed 3 completely different ways to earn a gold star), but I gleaned the most fun from the game just by mucking about on the title screen.

I would also like to give an honourable mention to Torchlight, even though I've already featured in in part 1 - as it offers a huge amount of game for the rather paltry sum of £13. I am hoping to get a review of it posted up over the festive period. I'm also very close to completing Dragon Age for the first time and plan to write a review for it too, so keep checking the blog or sign up to my Facebook or Twitter feeds to be kept up to date with new articles!

The Christmas Gaming Gift Guide 2009 Part 1: Must Have titles

It has become tradition for me to write a little gaming gift guide around this time of year, so here I am again with what I consider my 10 "must have" titles for the 2009 festive season (funds permitting). The list may be a bit RPG heavy because that's by far my favourite genre, and they are perfect for this time of year with the long cold nights and time off from work. Some of these games are already out, and some are released soon. Watch out for part 2 soon which will feature another 10 games that I am interested in, but will likely only pick up if I see them cheap somewhere.

Dragon Age: Origins - Xbox 360, PC - Out Now - PS3 - 20/11/09

Bioware have once again crafted an RPG of truly epic proportions. Choose from one of six completely different origin stories and join the Grey Wardens as they battle to save the land of Ferelden from both the evil hordes of the Darkspawn and political machinations from within. The game should easily last you 50 hours (more if you decide to wander and complete side quests) and is extremely replayable due to the decisions that you have to make and the bearing that they have on the overall storyline. By the time you're done with this, it should be almost time for Mass Effect 2!

Borderlands - Xbox 360 - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - Out Now

Borderlands is a RPG/FPS hybrid, and is incredibly addictive as a result. Choose from one of four classes - Soldier, Hunter, Siren and Beserker, each with their own unique abilities, and venture out into the wastelands of Pandora in attempt to find the legendary vault. If that sounds a bit like Fallout, it's no surprise as this game was inspired by that series. You can play the game on your own if you wish but it really comes alive in the 4 player cooperative mode, where the different classes complement each other (one class has bullets and grenades that actually heal rather than harm allies, for example). There are squillions of different guns to find, a huge world to explore and a dark sense of humour throughout. Where else can you find mobs that go by the name of Midget Psycho or Badass Corrosive Alpha Skag?

New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Wii - 20/11/09

From the videos that I've seen of this game so far, it looks like really good fun in four player mode but the likely source of a lot of arguments this Christmas, as the hectic nature of the game will inevitably lead to someone accidentally causing the death of someone else, which will probably spark a rebellion with all hell breaking loose. Those who fear that the single player mode will suffer as a result of the emphasis on multi player should relax - Nintendo have things well in hand. This could well end up being my game of the year, and I don't have long to wait now!

Forza Motorsport 3 - Xbox 360 - Out Now

In my opinion, the Forza series has been the leader of the "racing simulator" sub genre for some time now, offering quite a bit that the venerable Gran Turismo series doesn't, and it looks like Forza Motorsport 3 will easy outclass Gran Turismo 5. What you have here is an incredibly deep and complex game, yet Turn 10 have manages to streamline the interface and the game to coax in newcomers gradually, giving them as many driving aids as they require yet encouraging them to switch them off in return for bigger rewards at the end of the race. It also features a rewind button, which has become the feature du jour since GRID included it.

Torchlight - PC (download only) - Out Now

If you're one of the many people eagerly awaiting the release of Diablo 3, then you should probably take a look at Torchlight. Many of the developers have worked on the first two Diablo games as well as Fate. This game brings a few new things to the table, such as a pet that you can load up with loot and send back to town for you. You could also equip your moggy or doggy with some powerful spells, or do a spot of fishing and then feed whatever you've caught to them to transform them into a different creature temporarily. At $20 (about £13) this is quite the bargain.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - PS3 - Out Now

I have only discovered how great the first Uncharted was fairly recently (check out my review), but the sequel promises to outdo it in every area. It features some of the most breathtaking scenes on any platform, and this time also includes a surprisingly good online multi player mode as well as a selection of cooperative missions. Quite possibly the best game available for the PS3 so far.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - DS - 11/12/09

Like Uncharted, I only got around to playing Phantom Hourglass properly this year. Overall it was great, but the dungeon that you had to keep going back to time and time again was a bit of a pain, so hopefully Nintendo will tone this aspect down for Spirit Tracks. From what I've seen so far, Zelda (or rather Tetra) is killed early on in the adventure and then accompanies Link in spirit form, possessing Phantoms to assist him in solving puzzles. Will he be able to help her return to her corporeal form? I'm guessing yes, but it will be a fun adventure in the meantime. Also - trains!

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 - Xbox 360, PS3, Wii - Out Now

The first Ultimate Alliance (and the X-Men Legends games before it) were highly enjoyable action RPG's, featuring a ton of famous and not so famous faces from the back catalogue of Marvel Comics. I made the mistake of buying the Wii version of the last game which had horrible controls and no online mode to speak of, so this time I will definitely be going for the 360 or PS3 version. I have had a go at the demo and the graphics have leaped ahead in quality quite significantly, and there are cool new team up moves that you can carry out.

Need for Speed Shift - Xbox 360, PS3 - Out Now

The quality of recent releases in the Need for Speed series has been patchy at best, but this latest entry in the series will hopefully compare favourably do the similar Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5, and not leave me thinking that perhaps they should have left the f out of the title! It incorporates a stars system for completing certain challenges during each race, such as staying in first place for a whole lap or beating a particular time, and these change depending on whether your play style falls under the category of "aggressive" or "precision".

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - DS - Out Now

The Mario RPG's have always been incredibly funny, well written games with some really fun gameplay to back it all up, but the last one (Partners in Time) suffered a bit because of over complicated controls. This time Alphadream have simplified things a bit, and have also apparently been inspired by the classic movie Inner Space, as Mario & Luigi find themselves inhaled by Bowser. You then spend much of the game exploring Bowser's gut, or stomping around the Mushroom Kingdom as the Koopa King himself as he attempts to reclaim his castle from the evil (and hysterically funny) Fawful.

So that's it for part one - I have already bought copies of Dragon Age, Borderlands and Torchlight and will be reviewing each of them over the next month or so, and I'll be picking up New Super Mario Bros. Wii tomorrow! Next week I'll also be posting up part 2 of this guide, looking at 10 also-rans that may just be worth grabbing in the sales!

Top 10 Highlights of E3 2009

Here are what I consider to be the 10 most exciting announcements that were made during E3 2009 in reverse order. Bear in mind that I am totally bored with the FPS genre and not too keen on most modern action games either, so don't expect to see the likes of Halo, God of War etc represented in this list. Click on the title to view a trailer/video about each one.

10. Metroid: Other M (Wii)
I absolutely loved the Metroid Prime series so anything within the franchise is going to pique my curiosity, however I hate the Ninja Gaiden titles and there's a danger that this game is going to be a similar hardcore action title. Hopefully the combination of Team Ninja and Nintendo will deliver a quality game.

9. Golden Sun (DS)
The two Golden Sun games on the GBA were classic old school RPG's with excellent puzzles and thoroughly charming graphics. A third game is very welcome indeed and somewhat unexpected given the amount of time that has passed since The Lost Age was released.

8. Scribblenauts (DS)
The concept of this game is just brilliant, and if it works as well as it appears to from the footage I've seen it could be a contender for my Game of the Year. Basically, you have to reach a star on each level, and in order to do so you enter words on the touch screen, which are then turned into physical objects or creatures. There are apparently over 50,000 words contained in the in game dictionary, and they include the likes of Cthulu, so if you wish to summon an inter dimensional god, go right ahead!

7. Forza Motorsport 3 (360)
Sony may have been showing off Gran Turismo in PS3 and PSP format once again, but for me that series was eclipsed by Forza Motorsport 2 and I won't be going back. Forza 3 looks to be even better than the last game with noticeably better graphics and even more customisation options, including the ability to record, edit and share videos.

6. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
The original Galaxy is one of the finest examples of game design I've ever had to pleasure to experience - continually inventive, always entertaining. So I do of course welcome the idea of a sequel. I do have some concerns though, chiefly that this game apparently started off as a remix of the original, which kind of shows in some of the footage with bosses simply being reused. Then there's the name - couldn't Nintendo have been a bit more imaginative than simply sticking a 2 on the end? Even Super Mario Universe would have been and improvement. They've still got time to change it I guess.

5. New Super Mario Bros (Wii)
Yeah, another Mario game, and this time it's a 2D one. The four player mode looks cool (although I doubt I'll ever play it) and the new power ups look like their going to be implemented better than those in the last game. I have rated this higher than Galaxy 2 simply because it's closer to being released.

4. ModNation Racers (PS3)
Sony are applying their "Build, Play, Share" ethic that has worked so well with Little Big Planet to a new genre - that of the kart racer. The demonstration from the press conference made it look extremely easy to put a track together, the idea of having an infinite amount of new tracks is exciting. Let's just hope the game play ultimately backs up the premise.

3. The Last Guardian (PS3)
This is the third in the Ico & Shadow of the Colossus "series", and it shares the same aesthetics as those two games, except of course it's now in glorious 3D. Instead of having to climb and take down gigantic creatures, it appears that this time you have befriended one and must use them to navigate the game environment. Check out the awesome trailer, which features background music from Miller's Crossing (it works surprisingly well).

2. Project Natal (360)
If this works as well as it appears to in all of the demo videos, that it will truly be amazing. Thanks to a new camera attachment, full motion capture in now possible in your living room, allowing you to use your entire body as a controller. More exciting than that though was the the voice recognition and the way that the cameras can apparently scan items you hold up to it in seconds, like the drawing in the Milo demo. Really exciting stuff!

1. Tales of Monkey Island (Wii, PC)
The original Secret of Monkey Island is one of my favourite games of all time, I have replayed it so many times over the years that I've lost count. So the prospect of all new Monkey Island makes me very happy indeed. Five new monthly episodes from Telltale Games, the people behind the episodic Sam & Max, Strong Bad and Wallace & Gromit games. There's also a Special Edition coming to Xbox Live which is the original game remastered in HD and with rerecorded music and dialogue. It looks like 2009 is going to be the year of the monkey!

I am also really looking forward to Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins, but as I already knew about them I didn't include them in my top 10.