Ultimate Gambit

Originally Written for Cultural Wormhole

Doctor Who: City of the Daleks is an interesting game to review. On one hand it’s a stand alone game, perfectly adept at holding its own, yet on the other, it opens itself up to be seen as an episode fitting into the middle of the season five TV series. On top of this conundrum there is also a need to review it differently from different sides of the ocean. From a British perspective, the game is a freebie, thanks to our television licence fees, but for anyone reading this in the States, you’re unfortunately going to have to pay for it!

So with this in mind, the first thing that needs saying about City of the Daleks is that it’s easy. Very easy. The game is clearly aimed at providing something that anyone can pick up and play, which fits the Doctor Who business model nicely; fun for all the family. But if you’re looking for a challenging game, then move on!

For all intents and purposes, the game is a point-and-click adventure allowing you to take the role of the Doctor, and at certain sections his trusty companion Amy. Combining items and progression is mostly carried out through a series of mini-games, either involving careful negotiation of mazes in a similar manner to the old buzzer games, or matching symbols that slowly scroll across the screen. These are not especially hard, and are actually more of a distraction from the interesting stuff than anything challenging. Apart from these mini-games (which begin to get a bit repetitive as you move through the game) the bulk of the action takes place in avoiding the watchful gaze of the Daleks. This is initially challenging (and unforgiving – being seen means instant death), but as your progress you learn how to stay out of sight with relative ease. I think I may have died three times throughout the game. Thankfully the game itself is incredibly forgiving, and you will find yourself having to repeat two minutes worth of previous action at most, since the game saves checkpoints at practically every room entrance or any action taken. As I said, this is a game aimed at the whole family.

The real interest in City of the Daleks however is the story. Without going into spoilers, the story revolves around the Daleks having destroyed Earth in the 1960′s and only one man left to save the planet… Not exactly original as Doctor Who stories go, but still enjoyable and, importantly, in keeping with cannon. The visuals are spot on, with the character models looking exactly as they should, and even the movements seem to match those of the original actors.

It is also worth noting that the game defaults to the most basic graphics settings to ensure it works on all but the oldest PCs, yet you will see a vast improvement if you can afford to run at the higher settings. The voice acting is performed by the original cast, and includes a few genuine laugh-out-loud moments of banter between the Doctor and Amy. This is probably the game’s strongest asset.

As a member of season five, City of the Daleks fits the tone nicely, and is certainly a welcome addition, however this being said, it is missable. It adds nothing of grandeur to the story, no insights into character that you wouldn’t otherwise get, and nothing that you’re going to want to tell your friends about. The length of the episode is touted at around two hours, but in reality it took me a little under an hour; right on par with the length of a TV episode. To be honest, this is just about right; any longer and I think I’d have been bored of the rinse and repeat actions that you have to take throughout the game.

In conclusion, City of the Daleks is a fun hour-long distraction, but not a whole lot more. If you crave a bit more Doctor Who, and have always wanted to play with a sonic screwdriver, then you’re going to want to play this, but if you are looking for a new game that’s going to provide a challenge and replay value then you may want to look elsewhere. There are collectibles that you can pick up throughout the game, which provide interesting facts about the Doctor Who universe, but you’ll probably get all these on the first play through, and the story isn’t deep enough to bring you back again.

However, there is a very large redeeming feature of the game; if you’re a fan in the UK, for the price of £0 you can’t go wrong and it’s hard not to recommend giving it a try. On the other hand, if you’re reading this anywhere else I’d consider your purchase carefully – as far as I’m aware there’s no word on pricing yet, but I think if I’d paid more than $5 for it I’d be a little disappointed. Hopefully episode two will provide some more variety in the puzzles and a slightly deeper story to warrant the fans taking time to play it, but in the meantime, I will look forward to it with baited breath.

Score: 6 out of 10

…another leopard changes its spots…

You may have noticed a re-direct when visiting this site, or you may simply have been notified via the old address, but GambitUK.com has moved, forever…

The reasons are twofold;

• There’s a finance company at Gambit.uk.com, and I kept receiving their e-mails… (a minor annoyance)
• Due to my previous hosts SniffHost being incompetent, even though I registered the domain, I didn’t actually own it, and could not therefore move it.
  

And it is because of this, I now have a shiny new domain name – UltimateGambit.com

And there you have it.

I’m planning a massive redesign in the coming months, depending on my spare time over the summer, but in the meantime if you do spot something broken, please post below and I’ll fix it!

Well, it’s been a while since I have blogged, but since the Digital Economy Bill has just been passed, and I have received a response from my MP, I feel I needed to post something!

After contacting my MP (Tessa Jowell) via the 38 Degrees Site: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/speakout/extremeinternetl

I finally received a response, not surprisingly, after the bill had been passed. The response was as below:

Thank you for contacting me with regard to the Digital Economy Bill. I have received a large amount of correspondence on this issue and am fully aware of the strength of feeling on both sides of this debate. As you may know the majority of this bill was passed by the House of Commons last night and has now been sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

I have written to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills on this matter and on a number of individual concerns raised by constituents. The response I received can be viewed on my website via the link below.

http://tessajowell.net/uploads/d68b6478-8279-5fa4-3574-fe9e1a54e3f9.pdf

Thank you for taking the time to raise this issue.

Regards and best wishes,
Tessa Jowell MP

I cannot put into words how enraged I am by this bill passing; it has not had a proper debate (only 20 MP’s were present for the majority of it’s first reading), and for such a significant issue which is likely to hold back the future of technology development, this is absolutely appauling.

Anyway, I have responded to Ms Jowell with the below.

Thank you for your response.

I would like to point out that these kind of draconian measures will NOT be earning my vote at the upcoming election. I had been planning on voting for Labour at the next election, however I will be moving my vote on the back of this, as I am sure many other constituents will do.
This government seems focused on supporting bullying from rights holders (the majority of which are not even based in the UK) rather than looking at the bigger issue, and listening to the people of the United Kingdom.

This issue ultimately is not about illegal copyright infringement, it is about Net Neutrality, and the fact that we should live in a free country. There is no way to carry out these measures without spying on consumers of the Internet. If someone insisted on opening every piece of mail you received through the door before you had chance to see it, I am sure that you would object. This is no different.

Not only this, but it does not seem to take into account that there is considerable evidence that it is in fact those people who ‘illegally’ download content who actually go on to purchase more of it.

The fact that anyone educated in technology was opposed to this view should have opened your eyes to the true facts that this is an underhand way of giving money to the heavy handed music industry at the cost of the general public.

This bill needed proper debate, and until the Labour government retracts this bill and ultimately takes a stance firmly against it, you will stand no chance of receiving my vote.
This is unfortunate, as I don’t want to see a Cameron government, however I simply cannot support such a backwards party.

I hope that as my MP you will take these views on board; they may just be the opinions of one voter, but they stand for the rights of every citizen of this country who has the right to surf the Internet without prejudice.

Yours Sincerely,
Andrew Griffiths

I await her response with baited breath.

If you believe in this country and it’s freedom, I urge you not to vote Labour until this farce is put to rest.

Twitter is down… and i can’t even tweet about it!!!

Arghhhhh!!!!

I had a problem which needed solving.

I’ve just bought a Dell 2709w Monitor which takes DVI and has 5.1 output using the standard PC solution of three 3.5mm jacks, coloured Green, Orange and Black. I had hooked up my Xbox 360 via HDMI to the monitor, and the sound comes out of these (unfortunately only in Stereo since it’s in Dolby Digital, but that’s another story). This would be great, however there is no similar input, meaning that I have the issue that I had to keep swapping the jacks on my subwoofer if I wanted to get any sound from my PC or the Monitor. Having carried out much searching on the internet, I was unable to find a box that does this, and while many people seem to have similar problems, very few people have a solution.

My first test was to simply try a headphone splitter in reverse on each individual subwoofer channel. This didnt work, since the computer’s output always took presedence over the monitor’s output. It was then that I came across the following article on Bl3nd.com – 5.1 Audio Switch. It’s at this point that I decided to contact Joey Hazlett, the owner of the site to get some information and increase my knowledge on building such a device, with a mind to do it myself. I have to say that Joey was masses of help and the following guide wouldn’t be possible without him.

Joey’s guide was good, however in the UK I was struggling to find many of the parts. It was then I decided to use three switches to control each channed independently. So, here i a guide to building a box like I have now got…

Read the rest of this entry »

So, I’ve just read that NOE Marketing Director Laurent Fischer has been quoted as saying that Wii storage is not a problem, and that the issue is only relevant to Geeks and Otaku.

I don’t care what he says. I have 2 VC games and 2 WiiWare games and my console is full. Perhaps I fit into those above catergories, but that’s irrelevant – surely that’s the audience that will be spending their money on these games.

If the big N really want to get into the downloadable content game, they need to sort this out soon. Lets just hope he’s building hype in preparation for an announcement at E3…

For now, I certainly wont be buying any more VC or WiiWare games until they release some external storage – it’s just too much of a hassle.

This morning I received an e-mail from YouTube claiming that I’ve infringed upon copyright.
Now, I don’t use YouTube much, i’ve probably put no more than 10 videos up in all the years I’ve used it, and as far as I was aware, none of these were breaching copyright. The culprit video was entitled “Goo Goo Dolls – Give a Little Bit (Live!)” and was a recording that I took of the Goo Goo Dolls performing Give a Little Bit at the Carling Academy in Birmingham.

The person who claimed the infringement was apparently a guy called Roger Hodgson. A name that after googling I should probably have known, but I didn’t. So I wondered who this was – as far as I was aware, he was nothing to do with the Goo Goo Dolls, and I was right. Roger Hodgson is the guy who wrote the original version of Give a Little Bit, and member of Supertramp.

This brings up an interesting situation in my mind. At what point does copyright kick in? Roger Hodgson has clearly given the Goo Goo Dolls permission to use his song – it’s on one of their albums, and they regularly perform it at gigs. I clearly had permission to watch the original performance as I had bought a ticket, and there was nothing to stop me taking a video or photographs; in fact at points during the performance the ‘Dolls actively encouraged it. So in my mind this means that I have the right to this video. But I stick it on YouTube, and Roger Hodgson can have it removed. Now, I’m not really angry or even bothered by this at all – it’s not me who’s missing out on seeing it, it’s not me thats missing out on the potential publicity from the video, and it’s not me that’s missing out on the potential revenue that could come from a greater knowledge of this song.

Am I wrong? Should Roger Hodgson have the right to remove this song, even after he has passed the permission onto numerous others? Or should it be allowed to stay up? I’m not knowledgeable on copyright law, so I really don’t know, but I’m interested to hear other people’s opinions on this… I suppose the worst part of this is that there are a lot of other versions of this song on YouTube, both by the original artist, and by the Goo Goo Dolls (even at the same gig as I was at!)

Why is it me that has be singled out?!

You can find the text of the original e-mail after the break…

Read the rest of this entry »

I know that there are a few gamers who read my blog, so I want to point out a brand new site that myself and John Griffin have launched: SteamReport.com.

To quote the site, Steam Report:

“aims to be the foremost place for news, releases, patches, updates and editorials centered on everyone’s favorite platform; Steam.”

If you use Steam, or even if you don’t (you should be), check it out. We appreciate any support in the launch of this new venture!

Before I go any further, I want to state that these are my best games of 2007. I am not saying that they are necessarily the best over all, but they are the games that I have played and enjoyed the most this year. There is a severely limiting factor in this – I don’t own an Xbox 360. The reason this is limiting is that I am pretty certain that there would be at least 2 games that would make my list had I been able to play them – Mass Effect and Assassins Creed. However, I cant comment, as I haven’t played them.

So, without further ado… My top 5 games of 2007:

1. Team Fortress 2

So the winner is… TF2! I decided to separate out the Orange Box since it is a collection of distinct games that can be purchased individually. Team Fortress 2 is by far my most consistently played game, and I would really struggle to put anything else here. It’s high paced action that is simply the most fun that can be had on the net. Now all I have to do is wait for the Team Fortress 2 Quiz Mod to come along

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2. Super Mario Galaxy

I am in a unique position when it comes to Mario. I’ve played the originals, but I never got around to playing the highly acclaimed Mario 64 (in any of its incarnations), and while I look forward to it on my DS (when Amazon finally get them in stock), it managed to pass me by. Bring on Sunshine, which try as I might, I totally didn’t enjoy. So my hopes weren’t high for Galaxy. I watched the trailers and unlike some people, wasn’t blown away. But it’s Mario. And it’s an Nintendo console. So I had to get it. And, having collected 87 stars and well on my way to finishing Super Mario Galaxy, I can say that is is the most fun that you can have with a plumber. Period. And the most fun on the Wii. Very deserving of the second place.

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3. Portal

Do I really need to say anything about Portal?! All you need to know is that the cake is a lie. Oh, and it’s the best, most puzzling 4 hours of you’re life that you’re likely to have. I’d say that I wish it was longer, but I think if it had been, the game would have lost its charm. Thank god that there are lots of people developing custom maps to keep us going. Long live the weighted companion cube!

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4. Bioshock

Bioshock must be the most talked about game of the year, and when it’s as good as it is, why not?! I must admit, I still haven’t finished it, but my first new year’s resolution is to get my ass in gear and get to the end. I think a key word when describing Bioshock is the atmosphere – you really do feel like you’re there. My only complaint is that there’s no Anti-Aliasing, but that’s the Unreal Engine’s fault, and not Bioshock.

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5. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaro’s Treasure

When I started Zack & Wiki, I thought I’d be returning it fairly sharpish, it looked childish and I didn’t necessarily think it would be my cup of tea. However, after playing the first level I realised that at it’s heart it is a modern day recreation of the Gobliiins trilogy. Level based puzzlers, that have humor and fun combined with lateral thinking. If you haven’t played it, don’t knock it until you have!

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Honorable Mentions
Resident Wii-vil (aka. Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition) - Ok, it was on the Cube, but the addition of some great controls and the fact that I haven’t played it before give this a mention.
Link’s Crossbow Training – Not a great game on it’s own, but combined with the zapper and a couple of friends, this turned into a lot of fun. At a bargain price as well, who can complain?!
Peggle – Not you’re traditional game, Pop-cap Games have developed a really addictive little game. Download it, play it, buy it. Simple.

So another year comes to an end, another one begins, and we start the whole routine of the previous year all over again. It’s not pretty, but every year brings us plenty of TV to watch, music to listen to and Films to see. With the writers’ strike going on, who can say if next year is going to be the same, but this year was certainly entertaining.

And therefore, before further ado, I am going to present you with my picks from last year!

Best Show: Doctor Who

This was a tough one, but for me, Doctor Who had it’s best season yet this year. David Tennant just is the Doctor, and Martha Jones was the most interesting companion we’ve had to date. Some great episodes, some great guest appearances (Jon Simm anyone?!) and altogether very deserving of this year’s Best Show.

Runners Up: Battlestar Galactica (consistently excellent), Entourage (still one of the funniest dramas on TV), Psych (one that seems to miss many people’s radars, but is still an amazing comedy that deserves a mention), The Tudors (taking over from where Rome left off, an amazing show in a similar style that is definitely on a par with its spiritual predecessor), Who Wants to be a Millionaire (after x number of series, this is still the best quiz show on tv) – ok, the last one’s a joke…

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Best Newcomer: Californication

Possibly a controversial choice, but Californication was brilliant. Constantly stepping over the line, always enjoyable, and some great performances – David Duchovny at his best. If you haven’t seen it, you must – Califonication is in a class of its own.

Runners Up: Dirty Sexy Money (like The OC, but better, and for adults), Journeyman (but has hit an untimely end), Moonlight (some really bad acting combined with some really good acting, but for some reason this keeps me coming back week after week)

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Best Comedy: Saxondale

Possibly the hardest category for me to judge, as I’ve been watching some past comedy this year too that can’t win it for this year – Arrested Development and Jeeves and Wooster to name two. I was never a fan of Alan Partridge, but Saxondale is just right on the button. Brilliant show.

Runners Up: Entourage (comedy or drama?! Who knows, who cares), Flight of the Conchords (musical genius), The IT Crowd (geeky, but brilliant – perfect)

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Best Short Series: Oliver Twist 2007

A new category this year as there were two series that I really wanted to mention but didn’t fit in anywhere else. Oliver Twist was an adaptation that I was totally going to miss – we’ve all seen the story a million times, who needs another. But the BBC nailed it with this one – the kids were brilliant, and as always Timothy Spall was amazing as Fagin. Definitely one for the DVD boxsets collection.

Runner Up: Secret Diary of a Call Girl (never been a huge Billie Piper fan, but she was superb in this – hugely entertaining, porn for the masses!)

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Best Factual: Human Weapon

It’s interesting, it’s factual, and it has martial arts – what more can you want. The history of all the modern martial arts, and them put to the test by two American Mixed Martial Artists. You learn the culture, you learn the techniques. Great factual TV.

Runners Up: Mythbusters (as usual, though it seems they’re clutching at straws a bit now), Jonathan Ross’s Japanorama (it’s entertaining and interesting – that’s what you want!), Top Gear (not sure this really fits in this category, but still excellent viewing!), QI (Stephen Fry is simply brilliant)

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Most Improved: Robin Hood

I know, I know, what am I thinking?! For those that bothered to stick with this show, it was worthwhile. It doesn’t fit into the other categories since it still isn’t that good. But it is entertaining, and brainless. If you want some Saturday night swashbuckling Robin Hood style, and if you turn off your reality filter, Robin Hood does stand up on its own, and it’s enjoyable. And the second season was much better than the first…

Runners Up: Lost (I still thought that this season was the best so far. I wish they’d hurry up and end it still, but it did grip me far more than the last season).

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Get your act together: Heroes

This category is for those shows that really were good but need to buck their ideas up. Heroes was still great, but lacked the magic that the first season had. They have apparently realised this and will be sorting it out, so here are my fingers crossed for the New Year…

Runners Up: Spooks (most people seemed to love this season. I didn’t. Go back to the old formula – it worked), Stargate Atlantis (I still tune in, but it isn’t a patch on SG1. Please get it right)

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And finally…

Most Disappointing: Bionic Woman

I thought this had a lot of promise. I was wrong. Simply awful TV. Switch Off.

Runners Up: Dexter (still an amazing show, but after one of the best first seasons I’ve ever seen, how could season two really live up to my hype), Bones (still dragging out the love interest. Still love the show, but sort it out!)

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So, that’s 2007′s TV for you! Check back later for more 2007 goodness