Soul Bubbles review

Soul Bubbles makes its intentions clear from the moment you first fire up the game - you are presented with the following disclaimer...

This game does not depict any of the following objects or events:

Licensed racing cars
Post-apocalyptic soldiers
Elfs, orcs or magicians
Gang fights

Please do not not panic! It's all gonna be hunky dory...

Not only does it poke fun at the genres that have become something of a cliche in recent times, it also tells you that Soul Bubbles is a game designed with everyone in mind, young or old, experienced gamer or not. This is indeed the truth - developer Mekensleep has created one of the most interesting and enjoyable games of the year and it's a nice change of pace from the likes of GTA, Halo or World of Warcraft.

Format: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Eidos
Developer: Mekensleep
Genre: Puzzle
Region: Europe
Price: Around £30

Graphics: 8 out of 10
Soul Bubbles features gorgeous 2D visuals in a hand painted style which are extremely pleasant to look at. The physics of the bubbles in particular are impressive - they react to the effects of wind, water and being sliced into smaller bubbles just as you'd expect. After a while to start to take this for granted and begin to think of them as real bubbles, but it is important to remember that someone somewhere had to draw, animate and program them that way.

The intricate maze-like levels which feature gears, cogs and other contraptions will remind you of Loco Roco if you have had the fortune to play that game, and indeed this is what Soul Bubbles most closely resembles. In some of the later levels you need to trap water inside a bubble and then use it to douse flames so you can progress further, and the water inside the bubble also sloshes around convincingly.

Sound and Music: 8 out of 10
I'm going to compare Soul Bubbles to another recent release now - this time LostWinds for Nintendo's WiiWare service. Not only because they both involved manipulating the world with wind power, but because they also share a similar art and audio style. The music is extremely relaxing and therapeutic and features chanting and the use of exotic instruments such as the didgeridoo. While I was playing through the game I would often get through a level or two on my lunch break at work and it was a great stress buster after the morning's work - so much so that I had to be careful I didn't fall asleep! The music had a lot to do with this.

You really should check out this smart and fun game, it deserves to do well.

Game Mechanics: 9 out of 10
As the name suggests, Soul Bubbles involves you manipulating a bubble or bubbles around maze-like levels via the use of wind power. However - there's more to the game than that. Your bubble is there to serve a purpose - it is the protective vessel for 7 souls. Should your bubble burst, either through accident or due to an act of aggression from a creature in the level, you will have a few seconds to redraw another bubble around the souls, or they will start to die. Should you lose all of them it's game over, and the fewer you have also affect your overall rating for the level.

You can also draw new bubbles independently from your main one for various reasons - for example if there's some fairy dust that you are unable to get to, just draw a bubble in the space on the other side of the obstruction and pick it up. Then use the Deflate ability to burst it. You may also want a separate bubble for other reasons - putting out a fire for example. You don't want to fill your main bubble with water, or the souls will drown!

Then you have the ability to split your one big bubble into multiple smaller bubbles - you may have to do this in order to squeeze through tight gaps, or in order to get through strong gusts of wind (many smaller bubbles have less wind resistance that one big one, making them easier to get through). As well as these there are other elements that come into play throughout the game at the rate of one new gameplay mechanic per world. Other than the fire/water that I've already mentioned, I'll keep the rest a secret as discovering them as you go along and figuring out how they work is all part of the charm.

To complicate matters a little, there is fairy dust and Calabash to collect. Collecting all the fairy dust also has an effect on your overall rating for the level, but Calabash is a bit more important. In order to gain access to the later worlds you must have collected a certain amount of Calabash - there are three per level and they are usually hidden away from the main route, so finding them all requires patient exploration and some fairly straightforward puzzle solving. Getting from one end of a level to the other is pretty easy for the most part, so having these extra side goals to aim for adds a bit of extra challenge to the game (though not much). The real emphasis of these game is having fun, rather than the challenge.

Innovation and Cleverness: 8 out of 10
There's some good, solid use of the touch screen to be found here, and the levels are well designed with some interesting puzzles to figure out. This is an example of what the DS does best and the developers of horrid shovelware such as the Catz games should take a look at this and feel ashamed.

Value and Replayability: 7 out of 10
Unfortunately I have to mark the game down a bit here, because although great fun, there's not quite enough of it and what there is isn't particularly challenging. A few more worlds would have made quite a difference. True, in order to get a perfect rating on a stage you need to collect everything and make sure all your souls stay alive - but if you're thorough and careful this never really becomes an issue.

Overall: 8 out of 10
If you are looking for a great new game to play on your DS or just want a change from the usual crap that is churned out for all the major consoles, then Soul Bubbles should give you what you need. True, it's not the longest or most challenging game in the world but it is a memorable and absorbing experience. I look forward to whatever Mekensleep decides to do next!

The Vault: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Gamecube)

Title: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Format: Gamecube:
Genre: Action
Expect to pay: Around £50!

With Solid Snake currently appearing in two very high profile games on two different consoles (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on PS3 and Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii) I thought now would be a good time to take a look at Silicon Knights' re imagining of the original game.

While this essentially the same story and gameplay as the PlayStation classic, it has been somewhat "remastered", with improved visuals, extended cut scenes with incredibly elaborate fight sequences directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (who has also returned to do the same for MGS4). Fans of The Matrix trilogy should feel right at home with the action here.

From a mechanical point of view, the game now plays more like MGS2 and gives you the option to look down your gun from a first person perspective just like that game did. Visually and audibly, the graphics, music and dialogue have also been overhauled, with mixed results. The graphics are undoubtedly improved, however the music has suffered somewhat. From some strange reason, the decision was made to rerecord all of the dialogue with the same actors that did it the first time. It's not a bad job, but the acting was perfectly decent the first time around so hearing the same characters say familiar lines slightly differently is a bit strange.

There have also been other small tweaks to the game. Psycho Mantis now comments on which Nintendo published games you have been playing based on your saves instead of various Konami games, and you can spot action figures of Mario and Yoshi in the background at one point. Does all of this make it a better game than the original? Well, no - it's not better per se, just different. If you are a die hard fan of the MGS series then this will probably be of interest to you - likewise if you don't own a machine capable of playing PS1 games but you happen to own a Gamecube or Wii then you could pick this up if you've always wanted the play the first game in the series (and trust me, familiarity with the earlier games in the series is almost essential to avoid confusion while playing MGS4).

Whether the game is worth shelling out around £50 for (which it regularly goes for on ebay) is up to you. I'm glad I bought my copy when it could be found for a tenner!

Next time: I take a look at an Xbox classic that is worth revisiting or picking up for the first time.

Those who have played the original won't find many surprises here, but the game does look smoother.

The Vault: Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast)

Title: Skies of Arcadia
Format: Dreamcast (also on Gamecube as Skies of Arcadia Legends)
Genre: RPG
Expect to pay: £20-£25

I would like to introduce a new series of articles entitled The Vault, which features the very best games that should be in anybody's collection, starting this week with Skies of Arcadia, one of my favourite games for the Dreamcast and without doubt my favourite RPG of all time. In this game you play the part of Vyse, an aspiring sky pirate who comes to the rescue of a girl named Fina who has come down from the sky. The two set out along with Vyse's best friend Aika and a range of other supporting characters on a quest to stop the Valuan Empire from acquiring and abusing the power of the moonstones and waking the mighty Gigas (huge mechanised monsters) to do their bidding.

During the game you will take part in random battles that are fairly standard for Japanese RPG's as well as some truly epic ship to ship and ship to Gigas battles. Your ship is often dwarfed by the Gigas and it's up to you to figure out a weakness and exploit it in order to stop them.

One of the things I like about the game is that it's bright and bubbly all the time - the graphics are colourful, the main characters are cheerful and always have positive outlook, and the game remains fun to play all the way through unlike some of the Final Fantasy games where the main characters are often angst-ridden teens who quite frankly deserve a good slap.

The graphics may look a little angular and dated in today's high definition world but the game more than makes up for this with the gameplay. The game should take a solid 40 hours or so to complete the main quest, and then there optional challenges for you to take on if you decide to, such as finding all of the discoveries in the world or getting new crew members for your ship which opens new abilities in battles..

If you don't have a Dreamcast or are finding that version hard to track down then you could try Skies of Arcadia Legends for the Gamecube. This version has some extra side quests such as bounties, but in order to squeeze the game onto the two tiny GC discs some of the sound quality is lost which is a shame because the music is another one of the games strong points. It also naturally lacks the VMU based mini game Pinta's Quest. Personally I prefer the Dreamcast original.

Join me again next time when a Gamecube title will get it's turn in the spotlight.

The graphics may look a little angular compared to modern titles, but they still have a lot of charm.

Coming Soon

I am aware that there has been a serious lack of content over the last few months, which is unfortunate because the usage stats for the site had reached an all time high, and are now starting to go down as a result.

I have a few ideas in the works that I hope you will find both entertaining and informative. I am an avid reader of magazines such as Retro Gamer and GamesTM and they manage to deliver articles that both educate me about games that I have never heard of and teach me things I didn't know about titles that I have played to death already, and I hope to emulate some of their style here.

One of the major projects I am working on right now is 100 Games of the Last Generation that you should play today. What I hope to do is take 25 games from each of the Dreamcast, Gamecube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox that I feel are still worth taking a break from the likes of GTA IV or Call of Duty 4 to sit down and play. Likewise I plan to write a similar article - 50 Gameboy Advance games that you should play on your Nintendo DS. I haven't quite decided how to present these articles yet - one game a day, or maybe five in one go, and I'm still working out exactly which games to cover, but you should see something soon.

Aside from these long term projects you will start seeing the retro and modern reviews return soon, including my take on Call of Duty 4, Burnout Paradise, Lost Odyssey and classics like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Snatcher and more pinball reviews. I am especially excited to be able to play and review the Lord of the Rings pinball table from Stern, as my brother has just bought one on ebay!

So keep checking back and don't forget to sign up to my Feedblitz newsletter if you want to receive articles in your inbox!

Retro Review: Galaga '90

Before I get started with the review I would like to draw your attention to an initiative thought up by fellow retro gaming blogger Racketboy. His idea is to form a kind of "book club" for gamers where he chooses a certain game and then everyone plays it for a certain amount of time before saying what they thought of it in the forums. I think this a great idea and I will be joining in myself. If you're interested you can read his article on the subject here. Incidentally for anyone who thinks I copied certain sections of his blog, I had already been writing this blog for well over a year before I even knew of the existence of his so any similarity between them is purely coincidental!

Back to the to subject in hand which this week is Galaga '90 for the TurboGrafx-16. There have been many many entries in the Galaxian/Galaga series over the years but for most people Galaga '90 (aka Galaga '88) is the definitive version. What makes it more than another Space Invaders style left-right-shoot game? You guessed, I'm about to explain. For anyone interested in a full history of all the games in the series, you could get hold of a back issue of Retro Gamer #32, which has sadly sold out but you may be able to find a copy on ebay.

Format: TurboGrafx-16, Wii Virtual Console
Publisher: NEC
Developer: Namco
Genre: Shoot 'em up
Region: All
Price: 600 Wii points
***Tested on the GP2X***

Graphics: 8 out of 10
Galaga might look fairly simple, granted, but the 1990 edition had some nice touches that were pleasing to the eye. Certain bugs explode in a shower of colour like a firework, others fuse together to form a giant superbug which trys to crush your craft, and if you're good enough you will be able to pilot a giant ship and lay waste to swathes of space insects in one swoop. The bugs have been drawn and animated with a lot of character - for invaders out to destroy the human race they sure are cute. Some of them don't really like being shot (funny that) and they're eyes will pop out in alarm.

Sound: 7 out of 10
All of the classic Galaga sound effects are back in this version, but after a while the noises can start to grate a little. What little music there is is good, especially in the "Galactic Dancin'" bonus stages where waves of bugs fly around in formation to the tango.

Game Mechanics: 8 out of 10
While the basic structure of the original Galaga is still there (take out wave after wave of bugs), Namco have expanded and enchanced the gameplay in many areas, which is what makes Galaga '90 so enjoyable to play. Firstly, the game splits off in multiple routes and features many different endings, depending on whether you manage to pick up blue gems along the way and warp yourself into a different dimension. Warping gives you lots of points but it also makes the levels and enemies harder to deal with so you have to weigh up the situation and decide which route to take.
In addition to the standard stages Galaga '90 also adds scrolling levels and boss battles which add a nice level of variety to the gameplay and keeps things fresh.

Then there are the giant bugs and the bonus stages as previously mentioned which add a new flavour to the gameplay. You always want to try and better your previous performance, and this is heightened by the fact that the game keeps track of your hit percentage. There are also two different modes to choose from the outset - single or double ship. You do pay for the extra ship with one of your lives but it allows you to begin the game with a bit of extra firepower. The controls are spot on -really responsive, so that when you die you know if was your fault and not bad game design or programming.

Bugs, bugs, everywhere, why are insects in my hair?

Innovation and Cleverness: 7 out of 10
There have been many games based on the original Space Invaders concept over the years, but the neat little touches that Galaga '90 bring to the party make it more than just a standard clone. Other games like Super Space Invaders (or Majestic 12) have been along similar lines but they haven't pulled it as well as Namco has here.

Value and Replability: 8 out of 10
Even in today's world of epic 60 hour extravaganzas, I still find simple games like this really enjoyable. Sometimes I only have 30 minutes or so to spare, and quick arcade games are perfect for fulfilling this role. A tyical game of Galaga '90 may only last about 10 minutes or so, but with all the different routes, hidden features and rankings, no two games ever need be exactly the same.

From a cost point of view, I can't imagine the original Hu-card version of the game for the TG16 could cost more than £10 these days, assuming you can actually find one. A better bet is downloading the game from the Wii Shop and playing it on there. Or you could play it on the GP2X of course, either on the move or on a big TV hooked up with a TV-Out cable. The GP2X has a very good TG16 emulator availble for it called Temper and Galaga '90 runs perfectly on it.

Overall: 8 out of 10
Galaga '90 is a charming game which is full of smart features that will keep you coming back time and time again. Wii owners should definitely consider spending the 600 points required to acquire the game.

As it happens the TG16 is quite adept as 2D shoot 'em ups so there may be more reviewed in the future.

Retro Review: Earthbound

Earthbound (aka Mother 2 in Japan) is a game that is unheard of by most people, overlooked by others, and yet loved to bits by anyone who has had the fortune to play it. It's actually the middle part of a trilogy, but it is the only game in the series that Nintendo saw fit to translate into English and release (although not in Europe, only in the US). Exactly what makes this game so special its fans, and why should you care in an age when audio-visual extravaganzas like Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey are being produced? Pull up a chair and I'll tell you.

Format: SNES
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Ape
Genre: RPG
Region: NTSC (US)
Price: Around £30 (used)
***Tested on the GP2X***

Graphics: 8 out of 10
Earthbound has really great cartoon style graphics which are shown in an isometric perspective when exploring the world. There is a lot of detail in the many towns and dungeons that you will explore, including an arcade with little cabinets, a multi story department store and a town completely over run by zombies. Battles take place in a first person perspective very similar to Dragon Quest or Pokemon, and you will face off against many bizarre enemies throughout your adventure, including Mole Playing Rough, New Age Retro Hippy and L'il UFO. The whole game appears to have been created by people under the influence of drugs, as most evidenced by the decidedly trippy psychedelic backgrounds that appear during a fight.

These guys all belong to a cult that worship the colour blue - I told you it was strange!

Sound: 7 out of 10
The sound is just as quirky as the rest of the game - sometimes areas have no music and instead feature atmospheric background noise, such as the start of the game and whenever you enter a cave. Towns have more traditional RPG style compositions, and battles have rather offbeat tunes with unusual rhythms or tempos. There's nothing that here that would make you consider buying a soundtrack and listening to the music on your CD player, but what is here helps to add to the charm of the game.

Plot and Character: 8 out of 10
The plot of Earthbound, like all of it really, is rather daft. The main character, Ness, is woken up in the middle of the night by a meteor crashing into the hills near his home town of Onett. He goes off at three in the morning (like you do) to explore and discovers a benevolent alien bee by the name of Buzz Buzz which has come to warn the inhabitants of planet Earth about the evil Giygas, an evil being set on the destruction of the world. Buzz Buzz gives Ness the Sound Stone, an item he will need to gather the songs of sanctuary from various locations around the globe. Before Buzz Buzz can finish his message however he is squashed and killed by Ness's mum. Ness then sets out to save the world, and gathers several allies along the way.

The story won't win any awards, but the writing is really humorous... and really that's the whole point of the game - to be fun to play. The modern day setting and original situations you find yourself in is unlike any other game (apart from Mother 1 and Mother 3 of course) and is a refreshing change from all of the dozens of fantasy RPG's that are available.

Game Mechanics: 7 out of 10
By all accounts Earthbound is pretty solid, traditional turn based RPG (apart from the presentation and storyline of course), but it isn't without its flaws in the gameplay department. For starters, when buying and selling items you do have to go through a few too many menus for my liking, as the game doesn't let you buy multiple items of the same type at once. You are also limited to carrying about twenty items per character, and you can expect four of these to be taken up by equipment, and another five or so to be used up by essential story items, so having enough room for healing items can be a problem. This is mitigated somewhat once you gain your second and third characters and you are able to heal with PSI powers (magic) instead of relying on items.

Each character is clearly defined with their own set of abilities, so Ness gets the majority of the PSI points with the ability to heal HP and cure status ailments, as well as few attacks. Paula has mostly offensive PSI abilities, such as fire, ice and lightning attacks, Jeff can spy on enemies to discover what they're strong and weak against, and Poo can be considered a backup healer/attacker as and when required.

In addition to these battle skills, some of the characters have useful skills outside of battle too. Jeff can repair broken items which usually become better weapons or armour than the stuff that you can buy at that stage of the came, but it only happens if his IQ stat is high enough and even then only randomly when you rest at your house or an inn. Poo enhances the effect of certain healing items so it makes sense to make him the main item user.

Instead of automatically gaining money dropped from monsters (which never really makes sense anyway - why would a snake need gold?), Ness's dad deposits cash into his bank account, and you then have to withdraw it from an ATM which can be found in drugstores and hotels. You also have to save by finding a phone and calling your dad. One of the great things about playing this game on a GP2X is that you can use the Save State function of your emulator to save anywhere you like and not have to worry about going all the way back to town before you can shut off the system.

Taking a stroll downtown with the gang.

Innovation and Cleverness: 8 out of 10
Earthbound scores plenty of points for innovation for merely daring to be different in a sea of cookie cutter fantasy RPG's. Little touches such as a rolling HP meter (which means you can save a party member from death if you act quick enough) help differentiate it from the other games of the time and even today there's been little that compares to it for sheer oddness, except maybe Contact on the Nintendo DS and of course Mother 3. It's also a pretty smart game, as the citizens of the many towns always have something amusing to say. It's obvious that a lot of love went into the game both at the design stage and also when it came time to localise it for the US market.

Value and Replayability: 8 out of 10
The game features a good solid 30-40 hours of gameplay, which is just about right for an RPG in my opinion. While the game itself is fairly linear, it's such good fun to play through that you would probably replay it a few years later, and there's bound to be little things that you overlooked the first time through.

Overall: 8 out of 10
The fact that Earthbound failed to sell in high numbers and as a consequence Nintendo decided not to release the GBA sequel in English is a great shame, as this is a fantastic RPG that deserves to be played. It's only hope now is that the original game gets a release on the Virtual Console for the Wii and everyone realises how wonderful it is.

GP2X: Overview

I've had my GP2X for two weeks now and I love it - it's such a versatile machine and offers hours of fun, the majority of which is free after the initial outlay of £120 for the system itself. In this post I will give a basic overview of the various types of entertainment you can enjoy on the machine in addition to a few links to various resources which I have found invaluable. There won't be any detailed reviews of games or homebrew - these will come later.

The system
The new F200 model of the GP2X is quite attractive, certainly no worse looking than either the DS Lite or the PSP. It is comfortable to hold, the buttons are laid out well and the screen is both a decent size and nice and bright. There is a slot on the top where you insert your SD card (SDHC is also supported up to 32GB), and there are ports for plugging in headphones, a USB cable, an AC adaptor and a TV-Out cable, all of which are covered over by little rubber flaps. My only quibble with the unit itself is that the heaphone port is on the top of the machine, so you need to have headphones with a decent length of cable. The F200 model also has a touch screen that wasn't present in the previous models, but there are very few games that support it right now (with the major exception of ScummVM which plays brilliantly).

The speakers on the GP2X really pack a punch - I'd say they were easily 4 times louder than either the DS or the PSP.

Commercial Games
Now the GP2X isn't exactly drowning in commercially released games (there is a grand total of three so far) and you can't just walk into your local branch of GAME and expect to find them on sale, but what is available is very good. I have played the demos of each of them and they all show off the potential of the system to great effect.

First up is Payback, a GTA clone that has previously been released on both the Amiga and the GBA, but the GP2X version can be considered the definitive version. It's scrolls smoothly, features a full MP3 soundtrack and voice acting. There are 11 different cities featuring 50 missions to get through - very impressive stuff indeed. You can buy the download version for £9.99 or boxed versions for £17.99 here. There is also a 53MB demo for you to download and see what you think first.

Secondly there is Vektar, an old school arcade shoot 'em which looks similar to Geometry Wars but actually plays more like Asteroids. This game really shows off the power of the GP2X, it is extremely impressive. Again you can buy a downloable version priced at £4.99 or a box version for £12.99 here, and there is a demo available.

The final game which is only available as a download for €8 or €12 with a customised player sprite here, is Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles. If you love to get stuck into a decent puzzle game then you will be in heaven playing this game as there are tons of modes and missions available. If you have a GP2X cradle you can use two USB joypads, hook it up to your TV and then enjoy two player games with a friend. This is easily as good as anything on the DS or PSP and I look forward to seeing more games from developers Yuan Works in the future.

Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles looks fantastic - easily as good as anything on the Nintendo DS.

Emulation
Pretty much any pre 8bit, 8bit and 16bit computer or console is emulated on the GP2X, and there are a few 32bit machines as well! The best example by far has got to be PicoDrive, a Megadrive and Mega CD emulator that is virtually flawless. When I saw games brilliant games like Snatcher and Sonic CD running perfectly in the palm of my hand my jaw dropped. There are also very good SNES, Mame and Neo Geo emulators available, although the latter does take a bit of work before you can get it up and running. There are literally thousands of retro games out there that can be played on the GP2X.

Interpreters/Ports
I have already mentioned that ScummVM is available, but for those who haven't heard of it before what can it do? It was originally created to play the classic LucasArts graphic adventures such as The Secret of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle or Sam & Max, but it has since been expanded to play a much wider range or games including the Broken Sword series, Simon the Sorceror and the Kyrandia games. I loved these games in my youth and I still replay them from time to time. The touch screen is perfect for playing the games on the move.

There is also a huge range of other PC games that people have ported over to the GP2X including Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Transport Tycoon Deluxe, Tyrian and Star Control 3, although a lot of these require you to have the original game files in order to play.

Homebrew games
There are also tons of independent developers all slaving away on their own homebrew projects, most of which will be completely free to download and play. Highlights for me so far are Cave Story - a brilliant Castlevania/Metroid style action adventure that has three different endings and over 20 hours of gameplay, and Ruck Man - an extremely glossy update of Pacman. New games are appearing on the scene every week which is just one reason why it's so exciting to be a GP2X owner.

Video
Pretty much any video format (with the exception of .wmv) can be dropped onto an SD card and played back straight away, as long as the resolution is under 720 x 480 pixels. I have watched quite a few episodes of 24 on the bus to work which I converted myself and the colours are very vivid (once I discovered how to adjust the contrast). This is one function that will be getting a hell of a lot of playtime.

Audio/Photos/ebooks
I have lumped these all together because none of them are a major selling point as far as I'm concerned. The GP2X does an adequate job at playing MP3's but the built in player doesn't have a resume function which is a bit useless in this day and age. Chances are you will already own something that can play MP3's and you're better off sticking with that. Photos can be viewed on the GP2X which could be useful if your digital camera doesn't have its own screen. Ebooks is a bit misleading as it is really only a plain text reader and doesn't support proper ebook files or .pdf's. You probably won't use it.

Resources

Where to buy a GP2X:
http://www.gp2x.co.uk/ - they sell the console, most of the accessories and the commercial games
http://www.play-asia.com/ - could be a good deal cheaper importing from Asia

Files
http://archive.gp2x.de/ - all the latest games and applications as they are released.
http://gp2xtorrents.com/ - a really useful site with lots of torrent files to download. You can download various monsterpacks designed to fill up SD card of various sizes, with all of the games/emulators already configured properly to work straight away.

If you still enjoy playing classic games or prefer the unpredictability and accessibility of homebrew, then the GP2X is a must buy. Is it better than the DS or the PSP? Well, they all fill their own niche and to be honest I love them all just as much. I would definitely buy a GP2X over a PS3 right now though, that's for sure (and in fact, I did just that).

Hidden Gems: The Return Volume 2

I arrived home last night and discovered that one of the two new Xbox Live Arcade titles for this week was none other than Rez HD - Sega's classic Dreamcast shooter all tarted up with full HD support and a 5.1 Surround Sound mix. If you've never played this game then there's never been a better time to try it, and even if you don't own an Xbox 360 you should be able to find a used copy of the Dreamcast or PS2 version for the same or less money it would cost you to download if you look hard enough. What makes the game such an overlooked classic? Yes, you guessed it - I'm going to tell you!

Title: Rez HD
Format: Xbox 360 (original available on Dreamcast and PS2)
Genre: On-rails shoot 'em up
Expect to pay: 800 points or about £8 for a boxed copy

If you've ever played an on-rails shooter such as Panzer Dragoon or one of the Star Fox games then you will already be familiar with the basic gameplay or Rez. Fly along on a predeterimed path, locking onto enemies and taking them down, before facing off against a boss in an epic encounter. What really makes Rez different from these titles though is the way it uses sound and music and the way they interact with each other. The game has a wire frame neon Tron style look to it, which makes sense because the plot involves you hacking a computer in order to save the CPU (personified by a woman) from a nasty virus that is attacking the system. Before you can get this far you have to get past the various security systems yourself however in the form of the games bosses.

The soundtrack includes a stunning contribution from Adam Freeland who has gone on to moderate fame and fortune in his own right since the game was originally released. As you progress from one section of a level to the next by shooting down and opening network points, the music builds up stage by stage until you have a thumping dance track by the end of the level. Shooting down enemies or items also produces various drum, cymbal or synth sounds, so in a way you are effecting the music as you play.

There are five levels in the standard game which will take you a little while to play through, but after you finish that there's a whole range of bonus modes which become available, including a boss rush and more difficult, reskinned versions of the regular levels. Unfortunately there's nothing new content wise in the 360 version, but there's already plenty to keep you busy and if you've never played Rez before you should be more than satisfied with what you get for your money.

I hope this trend of releasing hard to find classics continues on the 360. We've already had Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and now Rez HD, and Ikaruga is also on they way. Who knows, maybe we'll even get Radiant Silvergun one day (which sells for silly money on ebay). Whatever format you have, be it DC, PS2 or 360, you should give Rez a go, you won't regret it.

Facing off agains the first boss in the fantastic looking (and sounding) Rez.

Retro Review: Alien vs Predator (Arcade)

In an attempt to readdress the balance of retro and modern content on the blog, I am planning to devote an entire month to nothing but retro reviews. I'm not sure quite when this will happen - I was hoping for February but it's looking more likely that it will actually take place in March. This will be aided by the arrival of my GP2X in early February, a wonderful little handheld machine that can run a vast array of emulators and homebrew games.

In the meantime I am going to take a break from reviewing recent releases this week and instead concentrate on an arcade title by Capcom - Alien vs Predator. There have been several attempts at the licence over the years including the Atari Jaguar and PC game by Rebellion, and I have to say the games usually fair better than the rather dreadful films. Capcom were famous for their arcade scrolling beat 'em ups, in particular Final Fight, but they released many more after that, and AvP is one of the later ones. Let's take a closer look shall we? Note: Criteria such as graphics and sound are judged against other games released at the time on comparable hardware, and not on today's next generation machines.

Format: Arcade (CPS2 board)
Manufacturer: Capcom
Genre: Scrolling Beat 'em up
Released: Worldwide
Year: 1994

Graphics: 8 out of 10
AvP does a good job of portraying the face huggers, chest bursters, alien warriors and predators that we're familiar with from the films, but also goes one step further by adding several new alien types which actually feel a whole lot more authentic than anything the film sequels have attempted to introduce. These include smashers with a larger forehead area to headbutt you with, defenders with armour plating on their heads, arachnids that scuttle around like spiders. and more. One of the four playable characters in the game is Major Dutch Schaefer, the character played by Arnie in the original Predator film, and it does indeed look like him, except he's now got a large robotic arm attachment to help him pummel his enemies.

The atmosphere of both the early Alien movies and Predator have also been captured in other ways throughout the game - you will see Weyland Yutani billboards in the background, and the Predator characters have their triangular targeting system, spears and discs. Animation is also of a very high quality, with large sprites movingly fluidly across the screen.

Sound: 8 out of 10
The authenticity of the graphics is also carried into the sound, with many sound samples coming directly from the films - for example the pulse rifle sounds exactly like it did in Aliens, and the roar of the Predator is spot on. The music is passable stuff but they don't use any of the movie score, it's all made up of original compositions.

Here you can see the Predator Hunter taking on a legion of angry Xenomorphs.

Game Mechanics: 7 out of 10
By this stage in the lifespan of the arcades, the scrolling beat 'em up genre was starting to feel a little tired, and unfortunately Alien vs Predator doesn't really come up with any clever new tricks to freshen it up. For example, both Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow over Mystara and Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder featured branching stages so you could choose a different path through the game the next time you played, which AvP unfortunately lacks. It also only supports two players, rather than the three or four player cabinets that Konami fighters like Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles and The Simpsons made popular.

You can choose from two human characters (the big, slow Dutch or the quick and nimble Linn Kurosawa) or two Predators (a Hunter or a Warrior) and the progress through stage after stage of button bashing mayhem against a variety of enemies. As well as aliens you will also be up against the army, humans who are incubating aliens (their cries of "Kill me!" is very disturbing), and the odd infected Predator or two. There is a large range of weaponry, but you can only use a weapon for a very short period of time before it breaks or runs out of ammo, and there's also a lot of breakable scenery in every stage that either contains said weaponry, health giving items or gems that give you points.

There's no doubt that this type of game is much more fun to play in multiplayer and AvP is no exception - playing on your own can start to feel rather repetitive towards the end of the game, but with a friend you can race to pick up the best weapons or team up against a particularly tough boss. All in all, AvP isn't the worst game in it's niche genre by any means, but it's some way short of the best as well. Fans of the movies that it's based on will probably love it, however

Here you can see Dutch facing off against a military general in the famous powerloader from Aliens.

Innovation and Cleverness: 5 out of 10
The various elements of the Alien and Predator films have been implemented in quite a clever way (certainly far better than the recent cinematic travesties), but by the time this game was released the scrolling beat 'em up template was definitely starting to show it's age.

Value and Replayabilty: 5 out of 10
Another average score here I'm afraid, because there is really only one path through the game, and you will probably start to tire of the constant alien smashing by the end of one playthrough any way. Being a fairly elderly arcade title does have an advantage however, as many of today's machines can run the game via the MAME emulator perfectly.

Overall: 6 out of 10
If you are a fan of the early, decent movies then you will definitely enjoy AvP, at least until repetition sets in and you start to nod off. Unfortunately there's only so far this genre can go, and this game doesn't even go that far. For a real prime example of the best that this genre can offer, check out Guardian Heroes on the Sega Saturn, which features branching levels, gaining levels and XP RPG style, tons of unlockable characters, a six player multiplayer mode and even more innovative touches.

PGR4 review

Way back in August of 2006 I reviewed PGR3, which performed well in all areas earning it a 9 out of 10 overall. The presentation, sound and gameplay were all top notch, but I was slightly disappointed at the relative lack of cities compared to PGR2. PGR4 brings plenty of new cities to the forefront, all of which feature many fantastic tracks to race around. These include the twisty Asian cities of Shanghai and Macau, the hilly Quebec, and the scenic St Petersburg. The game also has some other new features to help differentiate it from its predecessors, but do they really add to the experience or is it just a case of more of the same? Let's find out...

Format: Xbox 360
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Genre: Racing
Region: Europe (PAL)
Price: Around £30 new, or £18 pre-owned

Graphics: 9 out of 10
PGR3 was a launch title for the Xbox 360 and at the time the graphics were a huge leap beyond those of the previous hardware generation. They're still pretty impressive today, but the sequel manages to outdo them on every level. There's more detail in the track and car models there's a much wider array of lighting effects due to the different times of day that the races can take place at. Then we have the weather effects which are simply amazing, especially as a race can turn from wet to dry and back again in real time. As well as rain, you will also have to contend with varying levels of fog, snow and all out thunder storms. Snowy weather can also result in patches of ice on the track which can be very treacherous (especially if found on a corner). The tracks take on a completely different dynamic when they're wet or icy compared to in the dry, and this helps add to the variety and depth of the game.

You can once again view replays or take photos of the action but this time you can also post them to PGR on Demand, which is like Gotham TV but the players have much more control over the content. This is a growing trend in games (see also Halo 3) and is clearly aimed at the Youtube/Facebook generation. Personally I think it's a good thing, and these modes are usually optional extras anyway and not forced upon you.

Sound and Music: 9 out of 10
As well as the accurately sampled engine noises which are just as good as the last game, there is a new and highly varied range of music to accompany the racing action. Popular artists such as Goldfrapp, Bloc Party and Lilly Allen are featured along with a more eclectic mix of classical, world and jazz music. The only musical style I usually find myself skipping are the rap tunes, which have little appeal to me, but the rest is of very high quality.

Here you can see a... car. It could be a Lamborghini, or maybe a Lotus, I don't know. Do I look like Jeremy Clarkson to you?

Game Mechanics: 9 out of 10
I'm not really going to go into the basics of the PGR franchise because I have already done so, instead I'd rather focus on what's changed. Firstly, you have a whole new Gotham Career mode which takes place on a rolling calendar of events and sees you clawing your way up from the bottom of the rankings all the way up to the number one spot. You will proceed through several levels of events before you get to the top, each of feature new, more challenging championships. These include Rookie, Professional, Hotshot and Master. There are regular championships that feature one to six events that can be made up of any of the different game styles (Street Race, Eliminator, Hot Lap, Speed Challenge, etc), and there are also one off Invitationals that can involve you doing something a bit more out of the ordinary and usually result in you winning a vehicle. Finally there are the Majors, which happen three times in a season. These are the really big championships for the best drivers and they can be really challenging at first, and you will also have to qualify until you get into the top ten drivers.

On top of this new career mode there is also an Arcade mode, which essentially the same as the single player from PGR3 with multiple chapters made up of numerous events where you can earn medals ranging from Bronze to Platinum When you're done with all of that you can take the plunge into the world of online racing, which this time can include entire championships as well as single events, and a much improved lobby system. You can also try your hand at a Tournament, but these are really only for the very best players in the world as the qualifying conditions are extremely harsh indeed.

The other major addition to the game on top of the variable weather that I've already mentioned are motorbikes. As you'd expect they handle rather differently than their four-wheeled counterparts and can be a really thrill to drive. They also feature they're own exclusive range of Kudos earning moves such as wheelies and endos. However, you are extremely prone to being knocked off of a bike which is the major reason why you won't see a lot of people racing them online.

There are also are few new race types including Superstar where you have to chain kudos earning manoeuvres together in order to earn a certain number of stars within a time limit, and Super Cone Sprint which is a bit like the standard cone sprint but instead of featuring gates on a regular track, the entire track is made up of cones.

Finally, the PGR Shop has had something of an overhaul and now you have to buy everything in various packs, and not just the cars and bikes. There are also game types and track variations that have to be bought before you can use them. For example, there is an endurance track pack, a Bulldog game type, or a pack of Ferrari cars. All of these can be bought with the kudos points that you earn in single player or online.

Another car... but this time in black. It's very shiny isn't it?

Innovation and Cleverness: 6 out of 10
Much like last weeks game, Mass Effect, PGR4 is more of a refinement of an existing idea rather than anything truly new. The motorbikes, weather and overhauled career mode add to the game tremendously but none of them are truly revolutionary. I feel that the PGR series has now reached its peak, especially now that Bizarre have moved from Microsoft to Activision. I suggest that Microsoft should retire the brand now rather than giving it to another developer who probably won't make anywhere near as good a job of it. Some of the smarter ideas of the PGR series will make a modified appearance in Bizzare's next game, The Club however, as the game is set to take the kudos systems and apply it to a shooting game.

Value and Replayability: 8 out of 10
The single player Gotham Career will last you a considerable amount of time on it's own, but then you have the arcade mode, and the online mode which in theory could go on forever (or at least until no one plays it anyone and they shut down the server). There is a lot more to do in PGR4 than there was in PGR3, and you're not likely to get tired of it anywhere near as quickly. So far there has been no downloadable content released, but hopefully this will change soon. I would like to see Microsoft add some new cities this time rather than simply releasing car packs, as there's nothing wrong with the cars already in the game, but new tracks are always welcome. Even if they are just tarted up versions of old cities from PGR2 (Barcelona or Edinburgh maybe?) that would be better than nothing.

Overall: 9 out of 10
If this indeed the last in the PGR series then it has gone out on a high (engine) note. The handling is more satisfying than ever, the sensation of speed is spectacular, the range of game options is extensive and the weather and motorbikes make the old feel new again. Is it worth buying if you've already got PGR3? That depends on how avid a racing game fan you are, but I was more than happy with my purchase. The game can also be found quite cheaply if you're prepared to buy a pre-owned copy. Take the Marketplace demo for a spin and see what you think.

Mass Effect review

Bioware is one of a select list of developers (see also: Blizzard, Nintendo), that have managed to build up a legion of fans thanks to the consistently high quality of their games. Though they started out as predominantly a PC developer, in more recent times they have moved further towards consoles, a trend which began when they took over the MDK franchise from Shiny, and then moved on to the Xbox with Knights of the Old Republic. Their RPG's have always carried certain hallmarks, such as branching dialogue trees, the ability to complete quests in a number of different ways, and deciding whether to be predominantly good or evil. Other aspects of their games have continued to evolve though, from a true turn based system, to partial real time, and then fully real time battles with the martial arts game Jade Empire and now the action adventure that is Mass Effect. Do they manage to get the balance right? Read on...

Format: Xbox 360
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Bioware
Genre: RPG
Region: Europe (PAL)
Price: can be found for £29.99

Graphics: 8 out of 10
For most of the time, Mass Effect looks pretty damn good, but it is let down by textures that take a few seconds to be drawn when you switch scenes, and a sometimes unstable frame rate in battle. It's not a major problem by any means but it is enough to lose a few points in this category. When everything is running smoothly however, the game looks fantastic, if a bit plasticky. The planets which feature the main parts of the story are very well designed and range from a volcanic world, and icy industrial planet and a picturesque tropical world, but uncharted worlds can be a bit barren and featureless. This is compounded by a rather lazy repetition of buildings and scenery on these worlds, which means they largely feel interchangeable. You'd think that having spent more than three years developing the game, you'd spend a bit of time on these optional side areas before pushing the game out the door, but no. Hopefully Bioware won't need to spend so long developing underlying game systems for the sequel, and will be able to spend more time addressing problems like this. Time will tell.

Sound and Music: 9 out of 10
This is one of the strongest areas of the game, due to the excellent voice acting, synth score and weapon sounds. The cast includes many familiar names, both from Hollywood and TV (Marina Sirtis, Seth Green and Armin Shimmerman) and from other games and anime (Jennifer Hale, Kim Mai Guest, that-guy-who-did-the-voice-of-Carth-Onassi-who-I-forget-the-name-of and more). The quality of the voice acting is up to the usual high standard that you can expect from a Bioware game.

The music is highly reminiscent of Blade Runner at times which is entirely in keeping with the style and tone of the rest of the game, and the the weapons all sound suitably forceful and realistic. The sniper rifle with its thunderous boom is a particular favourite. The Geth (a nasty cyborg race which are very similar to the Borg from Star Trek: TNG) make noises which can only be described as robotty, which is appropriate really. All things considered, it's a job well done. Nice one, Bioware.

Exploring uncharted worlds in your Mako tank looks like fun doesn't it? It is, until you've done it over two dozens times on worlds that all look the same.

Plot and Character: 9 out of 10
This always the major strength of a Bioware title, especially the character part. The basics of the plot involve a Spectre agent (kind of like the SAS, but in space) going rogue and you and your team having to first expose him and then stop him, although of course there are some twist along the way. While the plot was entertaining, I wouldn't say it was amazing, but it's also only part one of a trilogy so it was setting up pay offs for further into the series. I only hope that Mass Effect sells enough copies for Microsoft to see it through to the end, I wouldn't want this series to suffer the same fate as Shenmue and be cruelly cut short.

The characters include a human soldier called Ashley Williams, a biotic by the name of Kaiden Alenko, a huge ugly alien mercenary by the name of Wrex, an engineer called Tali, an ex Citadel Security agent named Garrus and finally Liara, an Asari scientist who was studying Prothean ruins until she got attacked by the Geth. The first time I played the game I left her rescue until last, and when I finally turned up to save her she thought I was a hallucination! The second time I played the game however, I went there first and she was fine, so the order you choose to carry out the main missions does have a bearing on the overall story, which is quite smart.

Each of the characters does have their own backstory which can be explored during downtime after a mission on the ship, and if you choose the right conversation options you can actually get into their pants. Because the Asari are a mono gender race, they can "do it" with both men and women, which makes for some interesting gameplay options to say the least!

This is Liara, blue-skinned alien scientist and potential love-buddy (even if you play as a girl!).

Game Mechanics: 8 out of 10
Mass Effect is really divided into three separate parts which all flow and interact with each other - talking, exploring and fighting. For the talking part, things are pretty similar to how they've been in past Bioware titles, except that your response can be chosen while the other party is still chatting, which eliminates the pauses in the conversation and makes things seem much more natural. There are nearly always several types of reply you can make, unless the game is trying to steer you down a particular path which it does from time to time. This include a positive or kind response which usually leads to you being helpful and earning Paragon points, an indifferent response which doesn't do very much, a negative or nasty response which often results in you doing something bad and earning Renegade points, the option to Investigate and get more detail on whatever you are discussing, and if you have put enough ability points into them, the option to Charm or Intimidate the person you are talking to. A battle can often be avoided by using one of these options, but you have to invest enough points in them before you can use them everywhere.

Exploration sees you zipping from one star system to the next and landing on an uncharted planet, before trundling around in your Mako tank and investigating various things depicted on the map screen, such as debris, research facilities, or everybody's favourite word from Star Trek, anomalies. You will pick up many side quests while you work your way through the game, and most of them take place on some backwater planet which doesn't even have a Tesco Express. In fact, this is easily the most boring part of the whole game, as the planets are so similar that by and large they are interchangeable. I did complete the majority of the side quests on my first play through though, despite the monotony. In between planetside missions you can also wander the Citadel, a huge space station which serves as the main hub of the game. This place is full of interesting characters and lots of opportunities to soak up the backstory and get into mischief (if you want to). I must stress though that those of you who have a fairly low tolerance threshold for lots of and lots of talking may find the conversations rather boring, but for me this is one of my favourite aspects of any Bioware game. Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into if you've never played one of their games before.

Finally we have the combat, which plays like a version of Gears of War but with the need addition of all sorts of powers that you can call up and use at any time. There six character classes you can choose from, including Solidiers who mostly use traditional weaponry and can use heavy armour, Engineers who have abilities that focus on hacking or frying electronic enemies, Adepts who can use biotic powers which include being able to levitate enemies in the air, or suck them into a mini black hole. The other three classes, Infiltrator, Sentinel and Vanguard, are all almalgams of the first three classes. Later on in the game when you finish a certain side quest, you can choose a prestige class that further specialises your character. As a Adept, I was able to choose from Nemesis who specialises in attack biotic powers, or the Bastion who concentrates on defence.

A typical battle for me, sees me and my team sneaking into the enemies vicinity, powering up my barrier and then the Marksman ability of my Pistol, sending in Ashley to pick of a few enemies using her Assassination ability with the Sniper Rifle, and then Lifting or Throwing enemies with my character and Liara before finally hitting them with Warp or shooting them full of hot lead. So as you can see there's quite a lot of scope for different tactics. Purists may miss the more turn based systems from KOTOR or even Baldur's Gate but I enjoyed the shooty action of Mass Effect.

Innovation & Cleverness: 6 out of 10
While Mass Effect is undoubtedly a very solid gaming experience overall, it does feel like Bioware are following the same template they used with KOTOR and Jade Empire and just swapping out various elements for other ones, such as tactical shooting instead of kung fu. For all Bioware's claims that the conversation system would be revolutionary, it's effect on gameplay is really quite subtle and feels very similar to their other games. Yes, it's a good game, but it isn't particularly innovative on any particular front.

Value and Replayabilty: 9 out of 10
Replayability has always been another major strength of past Bioware games and Mass Effect is no different in this regard. The branching conversation options, the fact you can visit the main story sections in any order and the good/evil dichotomy all give you plenty of things to do for at least two playthroughs, maybe more. The character classes all play rather differently as well, with the biotic class having to rely on their powers way more than the soldier class who can usually just shoot their way through.

As for value, the main story is actually fairly short and can be finished off in about 15 hours, but there are so many side quests and optional conversation paths that this can easily be stretched out to almost 30 hours. This feels just about right in my opinion, and I felt the game was pretty well paced from beginning to end. In fact, I enjoyed playing the game as a kind female soldier (Billie Shepherd) so much that I immediately started replaying as a male psychotic biotic (Wanker Shepherd).

Overall: 8 out of 10
I really enjoyed playing Mass Effect (in fact I'm still playing it) but it's not without it's flaws. Microsoft have been positioning this new trilogy almost as a Halo replacement at times which is rather unfair as the two games are very different apart from the basic sci-fi setting. I hope Bioware continue to develop the series as it grows and they don't just churn out another adventure based on the exact same engine, as that would grow tiresome very quickly. If you're going to pick this game up, make sure you have the patience to sit through a lot of conversations, as that's half of the point of the game. If you don't you're probably better off playing something else.

Halo 3 War Report

I finally jumped onto the huge lumbering hype bandwagon that is Halo 3 yesterday, when I picked up a preowned copy of the game along with Bioshock for £40 yesterday. After having played the game almost non-stop since I bought it, I am going to have to admit that most of the hype is justified (though I still think the best game of the year is Super Mario Galaxy.

The single player campaign manages to capture the essence of what was great about the original Halo, and fixes things that Halo 2 did wrong. Likewise, the addition of experience points to the multiplayer mode adds a whole new level of depth, and I love being able to watch real time videos of your last 25 games in the Theater. Forge mode sounds great too, but I haven't really messed around with it much yet.

It will be interesting to see whether I keep playing the game when I have to go back to work, and I reach my skill level plateau where I can't get any further. At any rate, the game will get regular use thanks to the fact that everyone I know who owns a 360 also owns a copy of the game.

Finally, here's a screenshot I took at the start of my first Team Slayer victory, when I'm about to start kicking arse!

Boycott Gamespot

Firstly, I know there was no update last week and I'm sorry for that, but things are a bit hectic for me at work at the moment. There is light at the end of the tunnel however because next week I am on holiday for almost three weeks, and I plan to post some articles while I'm off. What I am really here to say though is that from now on I will be boycotting Gamespot completely, due to the controversy surrounding the firing of Jeff Gerstmann due to his harsh Kane & Lynch review. It is my personal opinion that games journalists should be allowed to say whatever they want in a review, without fear of censorship or recrimination - indeed they owe it to their readership to give an honest opinion. It is obvious after reading through this post on Joystik that there is something very fishy going on, which I for one can do without. I urge you to read the Joystik article and decide for yourself.