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

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.

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.

When the Wii came out, I was the first to buy one, I was the first to sing it’s praises, and when push comes to shove, I was the first to become a Wii fanboy. Now that some time has passed, and I have sampled a good proportion of the Wii’s gaming offerings, I’d like to assess how it has changed my gaming life.

The biggest change that I think the Wii has made to my gaming life is that I want a 360 and a decent PC. I want a 360 NOW. And if I hadnt just bought a new decent PC and I could afford a 360, I would have one.

This may be a strange thing to say that the Wii has caused, but the reason for this is that I want to play some decent games. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great games on the Wii. Some great games that I can count on one hand. To date I think I have played approximately 50 games on the Wii, and I can safely say that I have played every single one of those until it bored me. The hand mentioned above consists of these games: Zelda, Wii Sports, Wario Ware, Mario Strikers and Resident Evil 4. But what have these games actuallygiven me?

• Zelda – great game, but havent I played it umpteen times before?!? And now that I’ve finished it, when will it be back in the blue illuminated slot of my Wii?
• Wii Sports – again, great, but really only one for when you have the mates around
• Wario Ware – i played this on the gameboy, then on the Gamecube. See Zelda and Wii Sports.
• Mario Strikers – frustratingly hard in the later stages on single player. Great with the mates.
• Resident Evil 4 – see Zelda and Wario Ware.

My point is, the truly good content on the Wii has been done before. I know what I’m hearing you say, “but you are missing x game”, but think about it, how many of those games that you put in the x space there havent come out on either the PC or the 360 in a BETTER version. And by better, I mean both Graphically, and CONTROLS.

But arent the Wii’s controls it’s selling point?! Yes. But they are also the bain of my life.

Take Rockstar’s Table Tennis for a case in point. This was a good, fun, easy going game on the 360. Stick it over onto the Wii and “Oooh, there’s waggly controls, we MUST use this”. No you must NOT. Just because the controls are there, does not mean you have to use them. Of if you must, at least give us the option to use it as a normal controller, or plug in a Gamecube pad or something. I dont want every gaming session to feel like a marathon. This is just one example, but there are hundreds of others.

Let’s get back to the 360. I want to play decent games. I want to play Bioshock. I want to play Gears of War. I want to play NBA Live 08… What, NBA Live is out on the Wii?!? I know it is. It just has POINTLESS waggly controls. It is not fun. And that’s what games are supposed to be! I want to play it the way I enjoyed it on the Gamecube. [nb. before the arguments ensue, I am well aware that it is a crime to group NBA Live 08 alongside the other two games listed]

And this is what it boils down to. There just isnt the content for Single Player gaming. The waggly controls work well for multi-player games and minigames, but what happens when you want to play on your own?

You get out the 360 or the PC, thats what you do.

So, to all you Wii/Nintendo fanboys out there, I’d ask you to assess your situation, and ask if Nintendo is really thinking of us gamers anymore, or is it thinking about our mums, sisters and or mates. I don’t know, but I hope that they get us back on track sometime soon.

So until Mario Galaxy proves to be as much of a let down as Mario Sunshine, and until Smash Bros. Brawl comes out, I’m off to play Bioshock, Half-life and Gears of War. Preferably without having to get armache.

I’m in the process of planning the building of a new computer, and the first item that I have bought, is arguably the least important. However, Scan had the keyboard in its Today Only offer, and I couldnt refuse.

So, I am now the proud owner of a Logitech G11 keyboard. And my first impressions are good.

It was a hard decision for me to make, but there were two main features that eventually ended up with me choosing the G11: Backlighting and Macro Keys. There are numerous keyboards that have backlighting – Saitek Eclipse II being the main one I was considering – however, this didnt have any macro keys, and they are a feature that I have used in the past, and couldnt really live without. There are also many boards with macro keys, but this was the only board I found in my price range which had both.

One thing I was scared about losing was my wireless, however, I realised that I don’t use the wireless functionality all that often, and having recieved the keyboard the wire is plenty long enough!

The backlighting has three modes: low, high, and off – and is subtle enough not to interfere, but high enough to be useful!
The keys have just about the right feel – light enough to require little effort, but clicky enough not to feel awful like one of those laptop keyboards! There are a couple of points on the board which don’t seem to be properly lit – just above the left shift key (the arrow lights, but the word doesnt), a similar thing on the tab key, and a few tiny discrepancies on other keys, however, none of these stop you finding the keys since at least most of them is lit.

The macro keys (G-Keys) on the whole are great, there are 18 of them and three different banks, so 54 in total and they’re really programmable. I have noticed a few things that havent been possible, or needed a bit of thinking to get them to work – you cant give Ctrl-Alt-Delete to a G-key, and you cant directly program them to open a folder. I found a workaround for the latter – setting it to open explorer with an argument of the folder you want to open, however I couldnt find a way to get Ctrl-Alt-Del to work. You can set timings in the macro’s, as well as just setting a keystroke, but neither worked (even though it did recognise the keystrokes.)

Finally there are a set of media buttons to control your various media players. These would be great except for one thing – they dont seem to work when your media player is in the background. They apparently work with Windows Media Player in the background, but who uses that these days?! Itunes and Media Player Classic both can’t recognise the buttons when they are in the background, which is, to say the least, a bit of a bummer. With any luck, this will be solved by somebody at some point, but who knows – it’s not like the keyboard hasnt been around for a while. (I suppose this could have something to do with the fact that I still have the old logitech drivers installed, but I’ll comment on this when I get my new computer.)

There are 2 USB ports on the back of the keyboard, although i’m unsure of how useful these are at the moment. I tried plugging in an Xbox 360 pad, and there wasnt enough power for it. My USB key worked, but at a slow speed. I do currently have the keyboard plugged into a hub, so that could be what’s causing the problem, but again, I’ll test this when I get a chance on my new computer.

So, all in all, it’s a really good keyboard, at a really good price of just over £30
My only regret is that I couldnt stretch to get the G11′s older brother, the G15, which is identical, but has a programmable LCD screen. The extra £15 is just a little bit too much for me to justify, but if you can stretch to it, I would say it was almost certianly worth it! The keyboard is marketed as a Gaming Keyboard, and after a long stint on Quake3 last night, I can say that it definately responds well in that environment. However it’s also great as a non gaming keyboard too. You can program macros for different programs too (such as Photoshop), as well as for games, and it types great – I am using it now, and I love it.

So, now time for my rating: [rate 4]

I have just finished The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and can honestly say that it was one of the best games I have ever played. I’ve always been a fan of the Zelda series, and this raised the bar for me. But there was one nagging thing about it when i finally reached the end… it was a bit too easy…

60 hours of game play is definitely worth the cost of the game, and there is a good chance i may go back to it again in the future, but when i reached the end i was thinking that nothing in the game really challenged me. I’m a complete-ist, and did everything in the game except for collecting all the poe souls (which i didnt really see the point), and only used a guide after i had done things to check i hadnt missed anything. I never died, and while some of the enemies took a bit of time, with a bit of skill and taking your time they werent difficult. Even the final boss wasnt that hard – i had the full compliment of 20 hearts, full compliment of health potions yet never needed to use a single one of them – my heart meter never dropped below 13. Shouldn’t there be a little bit more of a challenge?!

This raises an interesting point, since I am the first to complain when a boss is too hard, or a game on the whole. I think what is really needed is consistency, and a feel of things getting harder as you progress. Start easy and build up. But not too much! A prime example for me where this went wrong was Luigi’s Mansion – pretty easy game, until the final boss, which was a nightmare!

So how can developers get it right? Is it even possible to please everyone? I suppose everyone is different, and as the ease of playing didnt stop my enjoyment, i should just be happy. But at the same time, I want more of a challenge.

Either way, bring on the next Zelda – i want to see Gannon rise from the dead… again!

How…

And how many of the consoles sold have been bought by Sony employees?!

I cant believe that there are that many stupid people around… hold on…

Well, most of you know that i’m a bit of a Nintendo fanboy, and on top of this I really think the Playstation is a hunk of junk, especially at it’s new price tag! On the other hand, I’d quite like a 360 if i could afford one (which I can’t).

Anyways, came across this site, Next Gen Wars, which tracks how each console is doing worldwide.

I’m batting for the Wii, but more than anything, I want the PS3 to fail!

So remember… DON’T BUY A PS3!

Onward!

2006 has been a big year for Games. Unfortunately, I havent played most of the big releases, opting instead to catch up with some classics that I never got around to playing. Beyond Good and Evil is a must-play for anyone who hasnt already! Never-the-less, I have played enough games this year to be able to put together my top 5!

1. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
3. Wii Sports
4. Lego Star Wars 2
   
5. Trackmania Sunrise
   

Well, no massive surprises there! Oblivion took up over 120hours of my life, and I still havent finished the thing. It’s almost TOO big. But what a game. I didnt like Morrowind (TES 3), but got talked into trying Oblivion by John! And am I glad he did…no! It meant that I threw nearly a week of my life away to that game! Seriously tho – cheers – it really is a great game and if you havent played it, you should.
Now, i’m nearly 10hours into Zelda, and it is giving me such a buzz. I love Zelda games – there’s just something about the way they are made, about the thrill of swinging your sword about and rescuing the princess (although i’m not actually doing that yet). The Wii control system works perfectly and I just couldnt not put this game in the number two slot, even though of only really just started it!
Wii Sports is a classic – any game that can get my parents playing, and enjoying themselves, and get a competition going between my sister and me HAS to be in this years top 5. It has its flaws, it isnt the most advanced game of all time, but it is great fun. And that’s what matters. Gaming started off with simplicity that is fun, and thats what it’ll finish as, and this fits that boat perfectly.
LSW2… it’s Star Wars, it’s Lego, it’s a fun game in which you cant die, and its better than the last one… Need i say more? I still find the vehicle levels infuriating, but hell, get this game.
Overlook the Starforce Protection (if you can), and Trackmania Sunrise is a great game. A fun driving sim that keeps you retrying tracks over and over again while not getting frustrated, what can you complain about. My only worry is that this may not have been a 2006 release, if not, I apologise! Replace it with the new one which i havent played yet, as I’m sure that’ll be just as good!

So that rounds up my games of 2006. Check back later for my TV shows and music!