REVIEW: Lost Odyssey
Developer: Mistwalker | Publisher: Microsoft | For: Xbox 360
Reviewer: Craig J Gallagher
After Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey is the second offering from Final
Fantasy creator Hironoubu Skaguchi’s Mistwalker. As such, it has a lot
riding on it, given Blue Dragons’ minimal success.
While a great title, it failed to capture the imagination of Western
audiences with many critics and gamers finding it too old school for
its own good.
While keeping the old school gameplay, Lost Odyssey is an entirely
different beast. The production values are truly awe inspiring with
some of the most beautiful render worlds ever seen on a console. The
story is equally fantastic and while there are a few flaws, overall
Lost Odyssey is a great title.
The story follows Kaim, whose immortality has allowed him to
experience all avenues of human emotion over the past thousand years.
Suffering from a memory loss, Kaim reclaims these missing segments
through dreams which are anecdotes backed up by a lush musical score.
As he traverse the land, Kaim meets various other characters both
mortal and immortal.
Lets get the negative out of the way first. The game can be quite
slow, the pace is leisurely, and at times can be compared to a Sunday
stroll on the beach. This added to the lengthy and frequent loading
times is something which will put many gamers off, which would be a
shame as there truly is a great game here.
The traditional aspects of RPG games are all present. Combat is turn
based which will be familiar to pretty much all gamers. The key to
progressing is mastering of different accessories at your use while
constantly leveling up is the key to progression. Most recent RPG games
have been relatively easy to complete, quite the opposite to Lost
Odyssey. The ability to learn new abilities from team mates is quite
handy and somewhat compensates for the added difficulty level.
One of the most striking aspects of the game is the superb score,
courtesy of Nobuo Uematsu a frequent collaborator of Sakaguchi. It
conjures up just the right atmosphere without ever becoming intrusive.
While not a perfect game, Lost Odyssey is a great RPG, which keeps
old school sensitivities while adding something new to the mix. While
not the easiest entry point for casual RPG fan the amazing production
values will more than compensate. As it stands genre fans will be in
heaven.
Irish video games podcast launched
Citizengame.co.uk, although it has a UK web address, is a newly launched Irish games podcast. The first edition, a ‘pilotcast’, was released on March 3 and has been so-far followed by three more shows.
In the podcasts presenters cover computer games news and talk about the latest games. The podcasts in MP3 - which vary from an hour to an hour and 25mins - can be downloaded in from citizengame.co.uk.
GamesStop Ireland up for industry award
GameStop Ireland, a branch of the international retailer, has been nominated for an MCV Industry Excellence Awards organised by the UK computer and video games trade magazine MCV.
The retailer is one of five in the “Specialist Retailer” category of the awards are set to be held in London in two weeks time on April 10. They are up against Game who also operates in Ireland as well as UK stores Gamestation, CHIPS, and Gameseek.
The Irish section of GameStop controls 51 stores mainly across the Republic and the North, as well as a number in Britain.
The company is still in a process of expanding the number of outlets in Ireland which started when game GamesStop bough Irish retail GamesWorld in 2003.
“GameStop is very proud to be nominated for a MCV award in the Specialist Games Retailer category. MCV magazine and website is the leading information resource for games retailers, media, publishers, distributors and anyone working in the games industry” commented Michael Finucane, commercial director at GameStop.
Highlander the game
Technically not breaking news or anything, but for those who may have missed it, when it was included as a bonus feature on the rather lack struck Highlander: The Source, here is the trailer for the upcoming Highlander game. The trailer doesn’t give much away but it does look impressive and given the wealth of mythology to draw upon this could be a gem of a game, that is as long as they disregard
Highlander 2 and the Source.
REVIEW: Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Developer: SEGA| Publisher: SEGA | Format: Wii
Reviewer: Craig J Gallagher
The most important aspect of any Sonic game has always been speed,
games generally involve our beloved blue hedgehog racing through level
after level collecting rings before the timer runs out. The inevitable
spin off game was always going to be a racing game, which we got a few
years back on the GameCube in the form of Sonic Riders. It was an
entertaining romp, which while relatively short lived provided ample
fun. Now on the Wii comes the long awaited sequel, Sonic Riders: Zero
Gravity.
There are a number of different modes to choose from once the game
boots up. The main mode, is off course Story. In it you must stop a
horde of evil robots from claiming a meteorite which attracts the
robots making them homicidal killing machines. Normal Race offers up
two choice modes, free race in which you can play with up to four
friends on any of the tracks you have unlocked and Time Attack in which
you must race against the clock and use your best times on a world
leader board. You can download other racers speeds and then try and
beat it, as they can do with your times.
The rest of the modes are Survival and Battle, which are somewhat
self explanatory. Up to four players can play each mode which is a god
send due to the rather lack struck AI evident in the game. It’s a shame
that there is no online mode bar the uploading of high scores and
downloading of other players “ghosts”. A true online mode would have
been a god send due to the fact that the game lends its self so well to
mass multiplayer.
When viewing Sonic Riders the only real comparable game is Mario
Kart. Both feature seasoned fan favourites in a genre unfamiliar to
themselves. Unlike Mario Kart, Sonic Riders lack the immense likability
and fun though the pick up and play mentality of the game more than
makes up for this. The main drawback to the game, is that for a game
based upon speed Sonic Riders lacks a true sense of speed and at times
feels pedestrian.
For a Sonic game, Zero Gravity is a disappointment, it lacks the
likability of a classic Sonic title. But taken as a multiplayer Wii
game, it’s an enjoyable play which guarantees repeat gaming visits due
to the immensely easy pick up and play aspects. While far from a
classic it remains an above average title which lends its self
perfectly to multiplayer.
Havok in court over brand firm dispute
Telekinesys Research Limited, the Dublin-based games middleware firm known as Havok, is being sued by a design agency that helped created their brand. According to the Sunday Business Post, the branding work for Havok by Dublin design company, Creative Inc, had appeared in a marketing magazine article as a case study.
Emmy-winning Havok then wrote to Creative Inc requesting them to cease linking it self to the games firm. But Creative are now taking action claiming they had an agreement to use work in case studies. The case was mentioned as a motion for entry in the commercial section of the High Court at the Four Courts in Dublin last week.
Havok, based in the Digital Hub in Dublin’s Liberties, was bought by chipmaker Intel late last year. It is best known for its physics software that helps games developers concentrate on other aspects of games creation, but has expanded to areas such as animation.
As result of the Intel buyout, Havok are to release a free non-commercial version of their Havok Complete product for PC from this May. The move is aimed at independent games developers and enthusiasts, as well as academic institutions with games courses.
According to the company its products are used in over 200 “AAA games” and as well as being used in well over 90 titles which are due to be released this year. There include Halo 3, Assassin’s Creed, and Guitar Hero
III, as well as the upcoming Alan Wake, Indiana Jones, and Starcraft II. The middleware maker lists many more on its website, Havok.com.
A deal with Sony before the PlayStation 3 release also saw a version of the Havok product bundled with development hardware kits for the console.
MORE: Legal dispute between Havok and design agency (the Sunday Business Post, March 16, 2008)
REVIEW: The Club
Developer: Bizzare | Publisher: SEGA | Format: PS3
Project Gotham Racing comes one of the most stylish, action packed
third person shooters in a long time.
The basic premise is simple, you
play as a competitor in an international game where you must either
kill or be killed. Up against a number of other competitors you have to
score points, by stringing together a number of kills to create big
combos in order to rise up the leader board.
Selecting from one of the initial six playable characters
(2 more can be unlocked), sets events in motion. Each of the character
has different strengths and weaknesses, some are quicker than others
while some have a higher tolerance for absorbing bullets. When
selecting a character it’s important to remember that certain
characters are more suited to game types and locations, meaning that
one of the most basic of gaming elements is a strategy in its self.
There are five game types on offer in the single player mode. The
first is sprint, in which you must get from A to B in one piece, all
the time racking up a slew of combos to score big. Siege finds you
battling against a horde of enemies, while the other modes include Time
Attack, in which you race against the clock, Survivor which is
basically Siege mode with a countdown and finally Run the gauntlet
where you must reach the exit before your time runs out. Disobey the
rules, stray a designated area or fail to finish before the time and
you head explodes thanks to an explosive chip implanted in your neck,
ala Battle Royale.
The real fun comes when you make the
leap into the online realm. You Can play up to 8 players, which is
double the capacity of offline multiplayer. Alongside the offline modes
there are three additions to the game modes. Theses are Score Match,
Kill Match and Hunter/Hunted. There are also team based versions of all
the offline modes and one other mode, Team Fox hunt which is by far the
most entertaining. In Fox Hunt you have to hunt and kill the opposing
teams “fox”.
There’s nothing to criticise, well barring the
lack of a story in the single player mode. Sure it’s a small niggling
irritation, but the inclusion of a half decent story would have been
nice. That said what’s here is more than enough to compensate.The Club
is to PS3 online gamers what Counter Strike is to PC gamers.
Like
crack, The Club is highly addictive and a lot of fun, minus of course
that horrible come down. In a market festering with mediocre shooters
The Club is a true gem and an essential purchase.
REVIEW: The Orange Box
Developer: Valve | Publisher: EA/Steam | For: 360, PS3, PC
Reviewer: Cian Ginty Ok, so the Orange Box was released at the end of last year on
consoles, but we think it’s worth a mention for anybody who has
recently bought an PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
The Orange Box isn’t a game, it’s five games boxed as one — Half-Life
2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and the
multiplayer Team Fortress 2. If you’re not a PC gamer, you might have played Half-Life when it got
off to a poor console start on PlayStation 2, the game was just about
playable compared to the award-winning PC version, but things have
changed since then.
Half-Life has been a standard setter since its first PC release in
1998. Half-Life 2 was long delayed but well worth the wait, again
getting critical acclaimed. Then, since its launch, games developer
Valve switched to a ‘episode’ based releases using their Steam download
system — the Orange Box partly acts as catch up for console users.
Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two are your standard-setting
first person shooters. Think highly developed storyline, impressive
graphics, and never-ending action mixed in with a range of weapons and
enemies, and you’re just about there.
Portal is puzzle game like you never. As with the original Half-Life,
you’re our stuck in a weapons research and development. But there’s a
twist. It looks like a first person shooter, but the game does not have
any guns you can pick up.
Instead you have a portal shooter, getting place-to-place or
disabling
automatic guns requires a bit of thinking. Did we mention the computer
which controls the compound has gone crazy and is trying to kill you?
If you could call Orange Box a game it would be game of the year 2007,
but, since it’s not a game, it is the best every value the games
industry has ever seen.
This article first appeared in the Ballyfermot Post in print and online at ballyer.net.
REVIEW: Burnout Paradise
Developer: Criterion | Publisher: EA | Format: Xbox 360, PS3
Reviewer: Cian Ginty Burnout does for racing games what Grand Theft Auto does for action
games, that is, makes them completely political incorrect — but great
fun.
Burnout Paradise adds another GTA feature: free roaming environments.
It does this in a completely imaginary city where there are no police
and traffic lights are a good thing.
Paradise is apparently a world where finding traffic lights means you can start a race or stunt challenge.
With the next generation consoles, the graphs have improved for the
early games, but game is focussed on senseless fun. The city is made
for stunts and general free roaming. There’s little in the way to
impede, and you see other racers passing while free roaming, you can
even take them down and their vehicle will be accessible back at your
garage.
The city is made for stunts and general free roaming. There’s little in
the way to impede, and you see other racers passing while free roaming,
you can even take them down and get access to their vehicles.
Like real life, the cars are weapons. But this is great fun and there’s
no danger or consequences. It’s a pity some idiot drivers wouldn’t stay
at home.
This article first appeared in the Ballyfermot Post in print and online at ballyer.net.
Xbox 360 price drop from Friday in Ireland
Microsoft have revealed an expected Xbox 360 price drop for Europe today, in Ireland the entry-level console will have an estimated retail price €199.99 from this Friday, March 14.
The standard Xbox 360 with a 20GB harddrive and wireless controller is expected to retail for €279.99, while the 120GB ‘Elite’ console will €379.99.
According to the company, these will see the prices come down €100 for the entry-level console, the Xbox 360 Arcade, and €80 for both other packages.
“History shows that €199 is the price point where a consoles audience begins to expand, and with these new estimated retail prices in place we’re ready to bring more consumers into the Xbox 360 world,” said Chris Lewis, vice president, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business Europe.