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I'm not too interested by the Wii U. It's got very few games that actually look interesting that aren't just ports. Atleast the controller is somewhat more standard. The Burdenous wiimote is what's pushing me away from my Wii back log... Still got bloody xenoblade and other junk to get through.
 
Lain said:
You can currently get 90 days for Playstation Plus for £7.99, so I thought I'd indulge!

I am very impressed. :D

Lots of free games, automatic updates and cloud storage. It's wonderful!

I played a little bit of Crysis 2, and I like it very much. :)

Just so you know 'Flocko', Plus subscriptions stack so if you wanted to add another 90 days @ £7.99 you can do that too while the offer is on. Actually cheaper to buy a full year this way than the years sub.
 
Nemesis Inferno said:
The Wii U update of death only took me an hour... Not tooooo shabby (if a burden for being out of box when it shouldn't be really)...

I reckon it won't do the same things as the original Wii, but it'll do nicely for Nintendo...

I think this is the issue Nintendo have with the console - they've put themselves into a really awkward place.

The Wii sold on accessibility. It was so simple that everyone could use it, and it came with a collection of games that everyone could recognise and play (and feel great at) within minutes. It was just "fun for everyone out of the box".

Within three years though, there was a dearth of games available for it worth playing. Lets Dance sells by the bucketload, and Nintendo themselves would chuck in a bone for everyone to fight over every 12 months or so. Beyond that? Just nothing on the system at all worth getting excited over. In the mean time, both the 360 and PS3 see AAA titles every month and some fantastic home-brew and manufacturer backed releases (Nintendo are the worst for indie developers to release with).

Essentially, the Wii has become the console for family holidays, girls and kids under 8. And they're immensely successful (and for those 20 million+ die hard gamers and Nintendo fans, there are some real gems on the system too here and there) in that arena.

The Wii U though seems contrary to that. Nintendo are making the promise of "next gen gaming", with AAA titles due for release alongside the PS3 and 360 versions. Then on top of that, the typical spattering of Nintendo first party games designed to make the most of the hardware and new controls.

So they've produced a follow up to a family/kids system and are trying to make it appeal to the "core" as well as "casual". The problem is this entire "aggravation out of the box" thing. It's something that we've kind of got used to with the PS3 and 360 - the original machines and OS were a bit of a chore. Now though, Sony and MS have got their systems pretty much nailed. They work really well within an hour of getting them out of the box. The Wii U needs a bit more love and attention (and charging :lol: ).

It's also pretty complicated stuff. You need to start hunting on the internet for solutions to a lot of issues. Bought the cheap version and Nintendo say "you need to use an external drive" because the built in memory isn't enough to deal with the day one update. Then the external drive doesn't run games off a single USB port, you need a Y splitter and to power it off two ports.

We were playing Wii Sports on Christmas day within half an hour of the wrapping coming off the system. This Christmas, people will be waiting for boxing day or later before they can be bothered figuring it all out.

That's fine for the "core" though, as it's something we deal with and we're used to having to overcome technical issues. Then what? Sub-par versions of games we already have? Okay, as the hardware settles in, the games will increase in quality - but only if people buy the initial releases. Ea et al are doing the wonderful self fulfilling prophecy thing. Nobody buys Mass Effect 3 because it's worse than the 360 version people have already played. Because nobody bought it, EA won't fund development on the Wii U uniquely but rather do the cheaper port from the other consoles. So the next games will also not be up to full Wii U quality and wont sell well. Then Nintendo will release a game that fully utilises the Wii U and the other games companies will call foul and complain that their (substandard) games never sell very well and the system isn't worth supporting. In six months time, MS and Sony will release details of their next systems that will offer much more for the developer and focus will shift. Then in three years time, you'll have the Wii U in the same place the Wii is. The question at the moment is will they carry the "casual" momentum as they did with the Wii?

I don't know? I think that the thing that sold the Wii was the "look how quickly we got these fun to play games running, and look at how fun they are to play". If people are hitting technical problems and it's delaying the access to the fun, then you're not going to get that word of mouth. Then, where's the Wii Sports for the Wii U?

Youngster Joey said:
^Nintendoland is actually quite fantastic. 5 person multiplayer gets intense.

Is this the new Wii Sports? It sounds like a lot of fun, but is there enough to it to keep people playing it in six-twelve months time as they did Wii Sports? Wii Sports worked on simplicity, literally anyone could pick up a Wii Remote and take part in a game of something and feel successful. The Nintendoland games look more like the Wii Play and Wii Sports Resort games, where there's added complexity. As soon as you add 3D control, people start to lose interest. Swinging a Wii Remote works for everyone, 3D movement is a "game".

I've read a lot of reviews, and they all say that there are some superb 5 player games. I don't know how many people have access to five player gaming regularly? I know with the Wii, I used to lug it everywhere with me and we could always get 4 players. I couldn't guarantee that with the Wii U as the games are simply too complex for people like my Dad to play and have fun with.

Nemesis Inferno said:
Only played a wee bit of ZombiU so far, it looks bloody good and the atmosphere so far is decent, actual proper set in panic moment as well... It's definitely a survival game, and will be interesting to go into it further...

I'm really taken with the idea of ZombiU. I really love the idea of it and it sounds great. I'm a bit worried though that it's a little light once you scratch the surface. Get over the new controls and the new "save" system and there's little to keep you going on with the game. It's definitely the most interesting of the release titles though and the one I'd most like to really play.
 
It is and it isn't. It's much deeper than Wii Sports and has WAY more content. However it has it's issues with camera options often and as you said, it;s not AS easy to pick up and play for non-gamers.
 
I couldn't get anybody to play Wii Play with me and everyone I know who adored Wii Sports (and Wii Fit) loathed Sports Resort - it was too complex to control for too simple a game (if that makes sense?).

Been trying to crack on with Lego Lord of the Rings. It's at the same time one of the most beautifully realised games I've ever encountered, while being the most frustrating and irksome game ever.

The game is just the same as all the other Lego games. If you've played one before, you've played this one. Levels that you play through with set characters so you can get to the end, then you can trade in Lego "studs"to buy characters that allow more of that level to be unlocked on a replay in freeplay mode (where you pick the a range of characters to go into the level with you). Or you can play through the game and unlock different characters.

There are groups of "character skills", and some puzzles require different character skills. So Gollum can climb fish bone walls nobody else can. Until you've unlocked Gollum, and areas that are beyond a fish bone wall are off limits. So you play back through the levels on free play with extra characters and skills to help you complete it 100%.

So far, so similar. The biggest difference is the "hub world". Usually, between levels, you are placed in a hub world that lets you got and buy characters or unlocks, or pick levels to play through again, or assemble models you pick the bits up to, buy character costumes, etc, etc, etc. In Lego Lord of the Rings, the hub world is the entire of Middle Earth. So you can make your way right across the map without doing a level. Then there are additional missions and hidden areas to unlock in the world too, creating a fantastic, puzzle filled open world between levels.

It's certainly an obsessive compulsive dream too. There's so much to hunt down and collect. So much to find, discover and rows up rows of items and characters to fill in. By picking up Mithrill blocks for instance (awarded for all kinds of deeds), you can go to a smithy to have them made into special items. To get all the items made, you need to find the plans for the items. So it's a constant game of hunting for everything.

It's not just an astounding scale for a Lego game, but it's also a gorgeous and accurate portrayal of the world created in the three films. Everything is there and recognisable. It's absolutely stunning, and if you're a fan of the films, then it really is an absolute must buy.

The cut scenes too are the best yet in a Lego game. They've always been good, with very subtle and silly humour, but now they've taken voice samples from the film, so they're completely authentic and they work so well.

With multiplayer (sadly, no network play, local only) the levels sometimes really come to life with split screen. You may have the player on the left battling the Balrog as Gandalf, while the right hand player lays out traps to catch Gollum. It's a fantastic cinematic experience in the middle of the game - very clever stuff - but will probably cause arguments over who gets to do the fun stuff ;)

So far, so fantastic.

Then you get to the actual game mechanics and similar problems that have plagued the series since the very first, rear their heads here again.

The platform antics are imprecise. There's not enough presentation of depth of field so you'll often find yourself walking off the side of a cliff instead of onto a narrow plank. Or trying to jump across a pool that seems wide enough but just isn't. You'll find yourself swearing at unfair deaths quite regularly, which is a bind as you lose studs each time you die and there are benefits to getting a large number of studs during the level.

The further you get into the game, the tougher the platform sections and the more you'll find yourself dying or leaping around like a headless frog. It's always been a game breaker for me in previous titles and Lego Lord of the Rings only gets away with it because of how fantastic the rest of the content is.

There are other issues though. The map allows you to set a destination. You follow a trail of translucent studs to the destination. However, the trail will reset itself seemingly at random, it just doesn't stick. So one moment you're heading got Hobbiton to get a new character, the next you're in Mordor as that's where the next level is. You have to constantly pause the game, check it's still got the right destination and carry on. It really disrupts the flow of the open world.

Quite often the path is also closed to you. Some characters don't unlock [to buy] fully until you've completed a certain amount of the game. When you find a new character to buy, you set a destination to them and off you trot, meet them and buy them. The problem is, that some characters it says are available, but there's no way to them without other characters you haven't yet unlocked. You'll traipse halfway across the world only to find that the new character is behind an un-scalable wall, or locked in a room you can't open. Given how long it can take with the randomly reassigning quest locator constantly needing sorting, it's a real annoyance. It would be much better if the game could dynamically calculate if you can get to the new character or not (I think maybe it should but it's flawed).

I guess that the real issue is that you're expected to play through all the story levels first and then do the open world - but why give the temptation of the open world initially if that's what it expects?

For every time though that you want to throw the controller through the TV due to failing to leap onto a rope, or storm out of the room in anger at the fact you've just wasted 20 minutes walking back to where you started; there's always a drag back to the game. You want to see how they've portrayed the battle with the cave troll in Moria, or what will a Lego Balrog look like? Helms Deep in Lego? It's all a Lord of the Rings and Lego geek's wildest dream right there in front of you. Yes, it's going be painful and a difficult journey, but one does not simply walk into enjoyment.

I imagine that by the end of the story modes, I'll feel like Frodo, only weighed down with the burden on the game. I'll also want to cast the disk into the fires of Mount Doom, but like Isildur, I shall keep hold of it. I'll battle my way once more through the entire game in search of every nook and cranny, every collectable and every secret until I finally defeat it. It'll never be my precious; more a Merry or Pippin than a useful Samwise - but I'll still be forced to love it, endure it and complete it.
 
Limbo is so bad. Its like a really boring version of Outland actually. I found myself playing and playing in the hope I'd hit the end of a chapter or a save point but there wasn't one. However the game itself had no introduction so it might have autosaved without me knowing. God knows?
 
Limbo is one of the worst downloadable games I've played this generation. I don't understand how it reviewed so well. It's a broken platformer, the visuals get old after the first half an hour (the spider bit is the only properly atmospheric section) and the puzzles are designed to screw you over on the first playthrough.

Add that to the fact that there's no story to speak of (explained in the game, anyway. There's a single sentence in the marketplace description) and the £10 price point for four hours of gameplay and it should have bombed everywhere, but no. It's the classic case of style over substance, and people were stupid enough to actually buy it.
 
I disliked it, but I dislike platform games anyway so it was one of those "I can't really have an opinion of it" type of things.

It's a very pretty game though and I guess it must fall more into "art" than "gameplay" then.

Unfinished Swan is very similar. It's a gorgeous game and it's such a fantastic piece of story telling, but the game is very slow, very simple and very dull. It's a real shame because developers should be rewarded for trying to produce something new and exciting, but if they get it wrong and produce a gorgeous lemon? It's a tough call and I suspect a lot of Limbo fans may push it simply because it was a brave and striking game to make and it's more about that kind of game succeeding rather than being good to play?

Journey is the only example I can think of recently where art and gameplay are perfectly balanced.
 
Mmmm, Journey <3

I thought Limbo was alright. I saw what it was trying to do but it didn't really manage it. Kinda like a grim Another World but meh.

But Journey, *fap fap fap*
 
ZombiU looks to be a lovely game, a proper survival horror but will certainly not be to everyone's tastes, the addition of the gamepad's screen allowing you to do bits and bobs whilst the game remains in motion is a tense and often scary addition, though I've not been in such a situation as of yet...

The game's atmosphere is exceptionally good, the choice of London as the setting might be making me biased, but it's dark, gloomy and exceptionally good, with an actual sheer sense of panic if it looks like the horde will come along to turn you... And you will get turned... The fact that one bite can kill your character is rather realistic, and the whole coming back as a new person is another decent and unique mechanic, especially with the chance to kill your former self and regain your belongings (which can also occur with your friends I'm led to believe)...

So far, the main annoyance is surprise zombies, where a second appears to mess your life up when you think you've got one cornered... One on one against zombies you are likely to win if you're good with the cricket bat weapon, two things get complicated, 3 or more it hits the fan...

Multiplayer is local and decent as well, the Pro Controller handles nicely with the FPS survivor having to last out against the Zombie King (called Boris, coincidence?) with the GamePad who spawns zombies of increasing difficulty (I HATE the riot gear ones)... Nice bit of fun really to pass the time and mix things up, showing up the FPS capabilities of the game which don't really come through in the campaign due to the survival first situation...

Solid game, but not to everyone's tastes... Probs the best launch game though 8/10
 
F1 Racestars is now £19.99 on PS Store, with an additional 10% off for PS+ for anyone who quite liked it but didn't like the high price tag.
 
Pierre said:
F1 Racestars is now £19.99 on PS Store, with an additional 10% off for PS+ for anyone who quite liked it but didn't like the high price tag.

That's a good price but:

a) I have far too many games on the PS3 to play as it is (and Uncharted on the Vita doesn't seem to be playing itself :lol: ).
b) If I was buying a Kart racer at a knock down price, I'd by the superior LBP Karting or the Mario Kart beating Sega one
c) I'm skint anyway
 
My old 80gb HDD is killing me. Upgrade for Christmas I think.

For what its worth, I think the £19.99 price tag is still too high for me but I know others wont feel that way.
 
Pierre said:
My old 80gb HDD is killing me. Upgrade for Christmas I think.

WTF? You're really only running on an 80Gb HDD? I'm looking at a 32Gb card just for the Vita (though I'm particularly irked by the near £60 price tag) to hold everything they're chucking at me.

the biggest issue with the upgrade is that you need a USB drive to backup your PS3 to transfer the stuff across intact (it works pretty well). Otherwise you're relying on setting things up from scratch and your cloud game saves. It's a long process, but pretty painless. I just wish SSD drives had come down in price to a decent level. There's a lot of speed benefits, but you'll get a lot more storage for your £ with a standard drive.

Pierre said:
For what its worth, I think the £19.99 price tag is still too high for me but I know others wont feel that way.

It's one of those where it's a good buy for an F1 fan who wouldn't generally buy a Kart Racer. I'm not going to bother with LBP Karting as Sony seem to give away their top first party stuff on plus a few months down the line anyway :lol: Would snap up the Sega one for £18 or less though.
 
I finished Zone of the Enders the other day. It's short, the voice acting is wobbly and the story is a bit overly melodramatic but it's actually fun as all hell to play. Especially the boss fights with Neith. The designs for the Mechs are **** cool as is the animation on Jehuty. It's a good early PS2 Title with loads of polish in places and a bit scuffy in others. The soundtrack is mint as well like.

Working my way through ZOE: 2nd Runner now. Same hilariously bad voice acting.

Oh yeah, also tried Metal Gear Rising revengence bleh demo from the ZOE HD Collection(Which is pretty good for once). It was pretty cool as well. Never saw the appeal of the main metal gear games but the gameplay in this quite good. the slicy mechanics are fun.

speaking of HD collections as well I got the Devil May Cry HD collection. Compaired to ZOE and SOTC/ICO it's pretty pants. It's still like playing standard Def games on an lcd screen and it being all dark and muggy and blurry. granted it's not as bad and clears it up a bit it still feels a bit half arsed. How surprising from capcom...
 
Yeah, its the most I've ever had too... :lol: Had a 60gb PS3, then a 40gb one, now an 80gb one.

Its a pain with PS+ because I'm having to just constantly add things to the D/L list - must have about 6-8 games that I'm 'saving for later'.
 
Joining PS Plus:
• 2nd January – Bioshock 2
• 2nd January – Guardians of Middle Earth
• 2nd January – Mortal Kombat – excluding Australia and Germany
• 2nd January – Gotham City Imposters – Australia and Germany only
• 16th January – Jet Set Radio (PS Vita)
• 23rd January – Pinball Arcade (PS Vita)

Bit of a dated headline title compared to recent ones. PS+ 12 month sub is also on offer @ £29.99 again.
 
I never played either Bioshock, so that's good. Battlefor Middle Earth? The demo was a bit iffy, but it looked okay I guess. Not something I'd rush out and buy.

Mortal Kombat though is quite nice. It was one of those "might pick up if I see it cheap and I have a spare tenner" kind of games.

Vita stuff isn't so great, but I don't really mind. It's good to have a light month as I've yet to load up Batman or Vanquish and still have a quarter of Uncharted on the Vita to complete!

Good job I'll get some time over Christmas really; though I always think that and end up really busy.
 
furie said:
I never played either Bioshock, so that's good. .

Please don't start with the second one for the love of God.

You'd really like the first I think cause it's amazing, 2 was awful.
 
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