He's Just Not That Into You

So I’m watching that movie, and it’s a great showcase of fucked up human romantic relationships. I’ve been inspired to share my opinions on the decisions the women make and the actions that they take. Obviously there are big time spoilers here if you haven’t seen it.

1. Beth & Neil

They have been together for seven years. They live together, love each other, and don’t want to be with anyone else. But Neil doesn’t want to get married. He doesn’t believe in the institution of marriage as an entity and thinks that people who get married do so out of obligation and end up unhappy. They do it because that is what they’re supposed to do.

Clearly, since I want to get married more than almost anything else in my life, I disagree. But I know that people have that opinion, and that’s fine. But they should really only be with people who share that opinion. If a person like Neil is with a person like Beth, who wants to get married, it doesn’t work out – Beth will always be unhappy and Neil will never understand why she is unhappy.

At this point in the film, Beth has broken up with Neil because of the marriage issue, stating that it’s bullshit that he won’t marry her. I agree. If he loves her so much that he doesn’t want to be with anyone else ever (something he states in the film), then he should just marry her. Nothing about his life would fundamentally change. They already live together so they share at least some financial responsibilities and a life together. Sure, if they got married, there would be more shared financial responsibility, she might would take his last name, and it would be harder to break up if he ever changed his mind about his commitment to her. But the big life changes that typically come with marriage have already happened, and he still wants to be with her. I completely believe that he doesn’t believe in marriage (in other words, I don’t think he’s just saying that as an avoidance tactic), but if he really loves this girl and marriage won’t really change anything in the first place, he should just do it if that’s what it takes to keep her and make her happy. Maybe even marrying Beth, the person he loves most in the world, will change his opinions about marriage itself.

Later in the movie Beth returns to Neil by saying that him and his love are enough for her, and she can take marriage completely off the table. As soon as she does, Neil realizes that he can only be happy if Beth is happy, so he asks her to marry him. So he did exactly what I would have told him he should do. Ha!

2. Ben & Janine & Anna

Ben & Janine are married and renovating their home. In their first scene together, Janine mentions having a baby to which Ben responds that he doesn’t think they’re at that place yet but will be soon. I didn’t buy their relationship in the first place, but that also kind of sealed the deal. Again, this is an important, fundamental disagreement. A family is something she is really striving for while Ben isn’t even really considering it yet, even if he may one day. She also asks him if he’s been smoking because he’s kind of jumpy because…

He’s been talking to Anna on the phone. He met Anna at the grocery store and was very attracted to her (she’s played by Scarlett Johannsen after all…). For a little while Ben tries to avoid being around her at all, knowing that trouble could only come from it, and she is disappointed because she feels an instant connection and attraction to him. But then he shows up to her yoga class. And then he watches her swim naked. They state that they can just be friends, both knowing that they probably can’t. And then they have sex. And then Ben tells Janine and they break up.

And at this moment she’s explaining to one of her friends why this was her fault. She forced him into marriage (by basically saying that if he didn’t marry her, she would break up with him). She’s not fun anymore. They never have sex. Etc. I also brought up the smoking thing because, later, Janine finds a pack of cigarettes and a makeshift ashtray full of stubs and ashes and is convinced that Ben is smoking again, even though he’s not.

I think she’s partially right. She should not have forced him into marrying her the way that she did. It just made him resentful. If he didn’t want to be with her forever then he shouldn’t have married her. If she doesn’t trust him – and then he gives her a legitimate reason not to trust him – they shouldn’t be married. These are fundamental reasons why they should not be together. The other things she mentioned are fixable – having fun, not having sex, etc. These things can be fixed. The other things can’t be.

As far as Anna’s part in this situation – I am not justifying Ben having an affair. It’s still wrong that he slept with another woman while he was married. But I blame him for that, not her. It may have been naive of her to believe him (he has sex with his wife in his office while she’s in the closet after they’ve reconsidered and decided to work on their marriage) but she thought she could fall in love with him. To her the risk was worth it. He, on the other hand, should have waited to be with her until he was sure he was going to break things off with his wife. Especially since he didn’t end up doing that and hurt both women in the process. (He also was smoking behind her back and consistently lying about it.)

In the end, Ben is fucked over with his wife saying goodbye to him with packed luggage, a carton of cigarettes, and a note requesting a divorce and Anna telling him to never call her again. That’s what he gets for trying to have his cake and eat it too, I say.

3. Anna and Conor

Conor thinks Anna is the one for him even though their relationship has been platonic for the most part. They’ve had sex before and a romantic relationship may have been implied at one point, but they’re pretty much just friends. He is convinced otherwise (playing the more traditional feminine role) while she is off making time with Ben. Once Ben has completely fucked over Anna, however, Conor shows up and says that they call each other sweetie, they talk until they fall asleep at night, etc. – they act the way a normal couple does, but they’re not a couple. So Anna agrees to a commitment with him though later that night it is implied that perhaps she still isn’t happy.

I think this is a classic situation where the girl wants to be with the one person who isn’t committed to her and isn’t satisfied with the one person who is fully committed to her. Neither of these situations is her fault. What is her fault are the actions she takes. She should have realized that real commitment from Ben would mean waiting to sleep with her until he was separated from his wife and that if she doesn’t love Conor then she shouldn’t commit to him.

Luckily when Conor proposes moving in, she admits these feelings to him, and they revert back to friendship.

4. Alex & Gigi

Gigi knows less about the opposite sex than pretty much all of the women. She goes on a date with Conor and then obsesses about him not calling her (the reason being that he’s so obsessed with Anna). She runs into Alex, his friend, at the bar and they begin a dialogue in which he explains the actions between men and women to her. If the guy wanted to see her again, he would make it happen. From that point forward every time she goes out with a guy, she calls Alex to ask his assessment of the situation and what action she should take next. They build a friendship and he even attempts to set her up, though the friend of his doesn’t show up. To Gigi – and the audience – it seems that Alex is interested in Gigi. He looks forward to their conversations, he answers the phone when he’s hooking up with another girl, perhaps the friend that didn’t show was imaginary, etc. In any normal romantic comedy, this would be indeed what happened. But when she comes on to him based on nothing more than these signs, he rejects her.

Gigi moves on and finds out that the friend Alex was going to set her up with is real. They go on a date and have a nice time. The roles are reversed – Alex is waiting for Gigi to call and is an emotional wreck because of it, but she’s moving on to others. Once he realizes he really cares for her, he shows up at her door, saying that she is finally an exception to all of these dating rules. At least she is for him.

I personally think this relationship between Alex and Gigi is the most bogus one in the film, even though it’s the focus of it – Gigi appears to essentially be the main character and narrates the beginning and the end. But it’s what every girl thinks is supposed to happen…and then it does…even though the movie is trying to show that all of these ideas about relationships are retarded. I think they shouldn’t have ended up together after all, even though it made for a nice ending and a corny line.

5. Conor ends up with Mary, who we don’t see too much of throughout the film because all of her other romantic interests are through texting or the Internet.

The movie is right about one important thing – we are taught really stupid things about the way we’re supposed to interact with those we’re attracted to from a very early age. In the movie, Gigi kept pointing out how insensitive Alex was when he was telling her that the guy wasn’t interested in her, but that wasn’t him being insensitive – it was him being honest with her and trying to help her by telling her the way it really was rather than doing what all of her other friends were doing and giving her false hope. My point is that women are so used to being around women and knowing how women think and feel that when they’re with a guy, they try to use what they’ve learned when it just doesn’t work. They operate differently so if you continue to try to form a relationship with him through the tactics women think work, you’re going to fail. Listen to what men tell you because they obviously are going to know men better than you do. And, besides, in the movie, Alex was right. If a guy wants to see you, he’ll make it happen. You have to accept that if he’s not calling you, he doesn’t want to see you and don’t make excuses for him.

Anyway, these are things I like to think about, so this movie gave me some fuel. It’s a pretty good movie, though I think it’s definitely one for the girls. I can think of a few guys who would find it interesting, however…

The last line of the film sums up how I feel about love and this quest in finding it:

“Or maybe the happy ending is this, knowing after all the unreturned phone calls, broken-hearts, through the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment you never gave up hope.”

[Via http://aperfectending.wordpress.com]

Samantha Swift and the Mystery from Atlantis: Save the world!

Samantha Swift and the Mystery from Atlantis (163 MB download)
Join Samantha Swift as she returns to race across the globe in a daring search for the missing pieces to an Atlantean treasure. Find clues and solve clever puzzles in this hidden object adventure! Dire consequences for humanity are at stake from a calculating new villain who crosses her path at every turn.

[Via http://pragmatown.wordpress.com]

Gotcha - Celebrity Secrets: Can you handle the scandal?

Gotcha – Celebrity Secrets (124 MB download)
Help Gaby ditch her dead-end job for the exciting world of celebrity gossip. Uncover Hollywood’s dirty secrets by tracking celebrities’ whereabouts, following leads and solving puzzles that reveal scandalous details to post on your blog. From rock star weddings to steamy love triangles, the juicier the story, the more readers you attract, and the closer you come to becoming the most famous celebrity blogger in Hollywood!

[Via http://favoritearcade.wordpress.com]

2009, a gaming review

Christmas has come and gone, so as seems to be the custom here is the start of my look back at 2009, and I’ll start with gaming.

On the face of it 2009 wasn‘t a great year for gaming, after all a lot of the big name games that a lot of us were no doubt looking forward to were delayed so as to avoid competition with Modern Warfare 2. But when you think about it we really did have a good gaming year. Not only game wise either, for 2009 was the year that the PS3 became a major competitor in the console wars with its price drop and redesign. Even I bought into this and now am a somewhat proud owner of a PS3.

But enough about the technicalities and onto the games. Taking my cue from a good friend of mine, SegaZoom (who can be found at http://allandavison.co.uk/blog) I’ll do this in a list format. Easier to write and easier to read. And so in alphabetical order let us begin.

Batman: Arkham Asylum: If you’ve read any of my gaming blogs before you’ll know that I’m all about a solid single player experience, an experience that sadly seems to be dying. But Arkham Asylum tries to remedy this by focusing entirely on single player. An incredible amount of fun from start to finish, and even beyond in the case of collectables and riddles, Arkham Asylum never fails to entertain for fans of the action/adventure genre. The stealth sections are handled expertly, never as unforgiving as say Splinter Cell but never feeling shoved in either. Combat wise it can get repetitive, but the only time you should really notice this is after you’ve completed the bulk of the (superb) story.
Borderlands: A surprise hit for me this year, Borderlands is an MMORPGFPS. It plays like a mix of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. The gunplay is tight and accurate (unlike Fallout 3 which I believe to be a great overhype, but more on that at a later date) and the open world environment is never boring to traverse. The missions (or quests) are always of a standard MMO fare, basically go here, kill this, collect so many of these, but when tackled as a group of up to 4 people this is immensely fun. Just be ready to argue over who gets what loot.

Killzone 2: Hyped as the PS3 exclusive that would bring the end to Halo’s reign as the benchmark for console shooters, Killzone 2 was never going to be able to live up to the hype, but in its credit it does a very good job. The single player is ample and different from most console shooter fares, everything that you do has a weight to it, that is to say you feel like everything you do has an effect on the world, every bullet seems powerful, every reload is a tense moment, and even the superbly implemented first person cover system makes the whole experience a finely crafted exercise in the standard go here shoot this genre. But it still doesn’t have that fun factor that other shooters have. Until you get into the frankly excellent multiplayer. While not on the same page as MW2 the way every objective transitions into the next on the fly is in a word brilliant, each game lasting roughly 30 minutes you’ll wish they went on longer. MW2 may be perfectly balanced but Killzone 2 shows what multiplayer should evolve into.

Modern Warfare 2: I believe I don’t really need to say much about MW2, seeing as it was touted as the biggest release in media entertainment history, but there are a few things I’d like to say. First of all single player wise it’s short, shorter and easier than even the original Modern Warfare. But while it last it is immense amounts of fun. Basically a playable version of a Michael Bay blockbuster, expect set pieces, plot twists and explosion at every turn. But the main reason anybody would really p[lay this game is for the multiplayer, which as always is superb and refined, rewarding you for spending time with it but never making the new-old experience gap too unbearable. Competitive multiplayer at its finest.

Prototype: Sandbox New York, super powered protagonist. Sounds a lot like the Spiderman games. And it was a lot like the Spiderman games, yet it was a lot more enjoyable (apart from Spiderman 2). You played an anti-hero that rampaged his way through the city destroying the military and the infection that had consumed the city itself. Both a hero and a villain. The story kept you hooked through an intriguing consume and discover mechanism, where you would absorb someone who knew about what was going on and you would gain their memories. All in all an excellent sandbox hero game.

Resident Evil 5: Personally I absolutely loved RE5, It was RE4 but with a friend. But it wasn’t without its faults. When you weren’t in fact playing with a friend you would have to babysit the AI, which on the higher difficulty settings made the game almost impossible, especially when their death would cause a game over. But when playing with a friend the game was a masterpiece of third person survival shooting. Many people belittled the controls (indeed the year previous Dead Space had shown us that a game exactly like this could have standard controls and still be exactly as intended) but the controls that were implemented were very much part of the experience, being unable to strafe and shoot while you moved allowed the slow paced enemies to pose an actual threat. My recommendation would be to pick this up if you had someone you could sit down with and play with, because that’s an awesome experience, but with the AI it’s pretty much an avoid.

Scribblenauts: A potentially fun little DS game, Scribblenauts would take my award for most disappointing game of the year if I was to give one. Yes it is fun to make things fight each other for five minutes but the novelty soon wears off and the actual missions can be easily solved by only a couple of items. Not much I can right about this game because in all honesty I couldn’t bring myself to play it much.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine: It took me a while to finally play this game, in the end I had to lend it off SegaZoom, but it wasn’t because I wasn’t interested, it was because I was always involved with something else this year. When I finally got around to playing it I found an immensely satisfying hack and slash game that followed the story of the film somewhat faithfully but even expanded upon it in a logical and believable way. How many tie-ins can you think of that did the source material good and even expanded upon it to make an awesome experience? Never as deep as ninja gaiden or as ‘epic’ as God of War, Wolverine was consistently enjoyable, never too hard, never too easy. One of the best film tie-ins ever produced.

Uncharted 2: Out of alphabetical order but I had to save the best till last. Being perfectly honest I will be unable to give Uncharted 2 the praise it deserves here. Its gaming excellence, hall of fame worthy, and indeed one of my top 5 games of all generations. The single player is beyond comparison for cinematic excellence, perfect pacing, brilliant voice acting and general direction. You can always control the camera in UC2 but at times I found myself never touching the stick for the camera always found the perfect shot if what was going on, and the set pieces have to be experienced. The first 30 seconds of UC2 gave me more good feelings than the whole of Arkham Asylum, and I loved Arkham Asylum. All I can say is that Uncharted 2 really is worth buying a PS3 for, even more so than Metal Gear Solid 4, and if you know me then you know just how much that means. Uncharted 2 is without hesitation, without a doubt my game of the year 2009. Play it, if you don’t have a PS3 find someone who does and play it with them. This is the argument that games are art. This is the argument that games are the films. This is the argument that single player is better than multiplayer. This is gaming perfection. Oh and did I mention that this also has an awesome multiplayer component to rival Killzone and Modern Warfare?

In conclusion I would like to say that some games are in fact missing form this list because either I haven’t played them (I’m even now still trying to catch up with 2008) so if your game of the year 2009 isn’t here worry not, it just means I was unable to experience it this year. But even so I stand by my statement that uncharted 2 is better than it. Seriously, it’s just that good.

-DiehardSpook, feeling dirty for calling a PS3 game the best of the year

[Via http://diehardspook.wordpress.com]

Jojos Fashion Show 3: Strut your outfits on the runway!

Jojos Fashion Show 3 (216 MB download)
Come strut your outfits on the runway and play the ultimate cat-walking fashion game! Join Jojo in her worldwide quest to keep the Las Cruces label hot and fend off devastating scandals. Improve your real-life fashion IQ and design your own clothing as you walk down the runway of success in the latest chapter of the series, Jojo’s Fashion Show World Tour.

[Via http://pragmatown.wordpress.com]

Dante's Inferno Demo- preview

Those of you who have experienced God of War are going to feel at home in the latest gore fest that is Dante’s Inferno.

This demo (released into Xbox Live Marketplace on the 24th od December) provides  a good-sized chunk of hack n slash gameplay,a genre which is currently championed on the Xbox 360 by Devil May Cry 4.
However that could soon change as Dante’s Inferno seem’s to have the skills to take on the red cloaked Dante from Devil May Cry.

Kicking off with some of the most beautiful cut scene graphics that I have ever witness,Dante’s Inferno kept me interested from beginning to end of this fantastic demo.
it then shifts to an unusual hand drawn look that is very hard to describe but gives the game a unique look as it tells it’s story.

Be warned this is no game from kids as you find full nudity almost from the outset and,of course,there is large amount of gore and decapitations thrown in to make sure this game truly deserves it’s 18+ rating.

But of course in a hack n slash game it’s the gameplay that counts the most and it’s certainly not lacking in Dante’s Inferno.
Once again you get the God of War vibe when you enter combat,but you wont care much as you leap,slice and decapitate everything that moves.

Combat is done through the use of many factors:
you have your standard light and heavy attacks along with your long ranged attacks as well,but you can also grab your opponents to activate the Absolve or Punish system,where you have to choose between to actions.
If you choose to absolve them you will hold a cross to there head and they disappear in an explosion of light,this scores you “holy” points to choose from the game’s vast selection of upgrades and skills.
Hit “punish” and you finish them in a brutal manner and score “unholy” points,which once again go towards levelling up.
Mix in spectacular magic attacks and some QTE (quick time events) finishes (which look exceptionally brutal) and you have an incredibly smooth and fun combat system that provides a good amount of depth.

As you enter the upgrade menu you will notice that the game has a vast amount of options to choose from.
You can choose from a huge array of moves and skills in the 2 skill branches, “holy” and “unholy”.
The Holy branch appears to focus more on your cross weapon whilst the unholy branch seems to focus more on your melee weapons,such as the giant scythe that you claim early in the demo (in a spectacular fashion)

In-game graphics are very nice,though I did notice a lack of texture occasionally and some of the background details could sometimes look blocky and undefined (the ships in the background on the very first part of the demo are a good example) but overall they game moves at a great 60FPS and there’s always something happening to keep your eyes glued to the screen.

Dante’s Inferno’s musical score is a fantastic example of drawing a player into a game with a rousing score that felt perfect for the game and always suited the feel and look of the locations.

Thought it may feel like God of War in places there’s no denying that Dante’s Inferno is set to be something truly special and could well claim the crown of Xbox 360’s Best Hack n Slash game from long time holder Devil May Cry 4.

Dante’s Inferno batter’s into store shelves on 05/02/2010,but until then grab the demo and delve into a truly fantastic game.

[Via http://wolfsgamingblog.wordpress.com]

Hells Kitchen: Do you have the talent to be a five-star chef in the hottest kitchen around?

Hells Kitchen (76 MB download)
Hell’s Kitchen is a U.S. television phenomenon as world renowned chef Gordon Ramsay puts aspiring chefs through a rigorous culinary bootcamp. Experience the show’s pressure-cooker atmosphere as you go through a series of kitchen and dining room challenges. Success depends on how well you can cook and serve meals, so master each time management test to progress. Each meal is scored by Gordon Ramsay! Do you have the talent to be a five-star chef in the hottest kitchen around?

[Via http://oldgamer60.wordpress.com]

Mahjong Memoirs: Find true love beneath the Mahjong tiles!

Mahjong Memoirs (91 MB download)
Discover a timeless tale of forbidden love in this reinvention of Mahjong. Master your skills to win trophies and special badges. Play over 230 mahjong-solitaire levels with 5 beautiful tile sets and 13 exquisite Japanese-style backgrounds. Find true love beneath the Mahjong tiles!

[Via http://neweducationalgames.wordpress.com]

In Anticipation

Anticipation of what you may ask?  Well, my fair reader, let me enlighten you.

For those of you that are unaware, Nintendo has remade the second generation Pokemon games.  Originally titled Gold/Silver (and rapidly after, Crystal), these two new titles will be called HeartGold and SoulSilver.  While I’m not entirely fond of the title choice, I am absolutely stoked for these titles to be released in America.

What day will that be?

MARCH 14th, 2010!

Now, these games have already seen release in Japan.  Launched in September, the games sold over two million units in their first six weeks of sales.  Reception has been initially positive in Japan.  A Japanese gaming magazine known as Famitsu gave the games a combined score of 37/40 based on four individual ten-point reviews.  The individual reviews rated the games at 9, 9, 10, and 9.  Each reviewer praised the games for retaining the quality that drew them to the original Gold/Silver.  This is high praise, considering Gold/Silver were perhaps the most innovative and well-received of the series.  The only drawback the reviewers found was that the game offered “no major surprises.”  We can only hope America feels the same way. ^.^

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver have captured my interest and excitement for over a year now, since the first speculations and rumors hit the web.  After the official announcement that Nintendo would indeed be remaking the original Gold/Silver games, the anticipated waiting began.  I have held on with bated breath for updates and new information on these tightly wrapped projects.  From everything I’ve seen so far, the wait has been well worth it.

Because there are still three months until the release date of this game (and I’ve already put down the money to preorder my copy of HeartGold), I decided I would whip up a delectable post containing all the relevant information about the upcoming games.  It’s partly an excuse for me to drool over all the exciting new features and partly because I don’t think many people are aware of the changes that are going to be taking place for these titles.

At first, we had nothing to see but the logo for the upcoming games. These logos were rough, edgy, and somehow managed to drive me into a frenzy of fandom. For your viewing pleasure, here are the Japanese logos.

Now that we’ve come closer to the release date and GameStops across the country have the “mock boxes” sitting out begging for you to preorder (and constantly reminding me that I have no time machine to get to March 14th faster…), we have images of what the boxes will look like for the American release. Well, these would look like the American release boxes if they were covered in English text.

These two games will retell the story of Jhoto. The player will start in New Bark Town, as he did in the original Gold/Silver games. However, while the story remains very similar, there are a lot of things that will be changing between the games.  I have outlined as many of those changes as I am aware of below.

First of all, the characters themselves will be changing. While the original “Gold” remains the male playable character, he has received an updated design. And while Gold’s original female counterpart would have been Kotone, she has been replaced by an all-new female character named Kris.

All of the game’s music has been rearranged to better utilize the DS’s more sophisticated sound systems. (After all, the DS is a far cry away from the Game Boy Color we all grew up with and loved very dearly.)  There will be a key obtainable item, however, that will allow the player to switch between the new, updated arrangements of the music and the original chiptune soundtrack. Ambient sound effects will also be much more prominent in these remastered games.  Where in the original versions, there was really no sounds but the chiptune soundtrack and Pokemon battle noises, in HeartGold/SoulSilver, players will be treated to the sounds of running water and rustling grasses among other sounds.  This should add an entirely new layer of texture and realism to the games.

As is to be expected, the Pokedex has also been updated to accommodate some of the fourth generation evolutions of originally Jhoto Pokemon.

As in the original game, the bad guys will be Team Rocket (perhaps the most sinister of the Pokemon antagonist teams), but we will be seeing four new Rocket Executives.  Each Executive has taken the name of a real-world Rocket.

Apricorns will be making a reappearance, much to my utter delight.  Each of the original Apricorn’s corresponding Pokeball will also thus be obtainable.  All the “Berry Trees” from the original Gold/Silver games have been switched into Apricorn trees, making the process of turning Apricorns into Pokeballs a much more feasible project.

Many of the Jhoto region Gyms have been redesigned.  This provides new puzzles and challenges for those individuals who played the original Gold/Silver games.  While the Leaders themselves remain unchanged, their teams have also been updated in some cases as well as their surroundings.  (This was honestly a very good sales and marketing strategy for Nintendo and I am quite pleased to know that I won’t essentially be playing the exact same game with slightly better graphics and music.)

Defog will be losing it’s status as an HM, stepping down to let Whirlpool take it’s rightful place as the 8th HM.

Perhaps not entirely life-altering, the player will now also be able to see how many Jhoto and Kanto badges he or she has earned.  In the original versions, there was no way to see the Kanto badges you had earned after completing the Jhoto region.

Some location changes will also be occurring.  For the first time in any Pokemon game, the Professor’s lab will have an upstairs level where his family lives as opposed to a separate, smaller building in New Bark Town.  The Battle Tower from Pokemon Crystal makes a reappearance, bringing with it the Battle Frontier technology from Pokemon Platinum.  Two new routes will be introduced, one leading to a brand new Safari Zone, and the other leading to a location known as the Hidden Tower.  Mount Silver is much more vast and the Viridian Forest has not been cut down (as it was in the originals).  The Fighting Dojo in Saffron City will now be taking a role similar to that of Sinnoh’s Battleground.  Cerulean Cave and the Seafoam Islands will still be reachable in these games, allowing players to have access to the Legendary Birds, though Moltres will now be found in Mount Silver.

There will also be quite a few changes in the overall gameplay from the original Gold/Silver to the new releases of HeartGold/SoulSilver.  These gameplay changes are not to be booed or hissed at.  I think that each and every one of these changes will only add to the overall experience.  While they may take some getting used to for those of us who have been playing since the dawn of the series with Red/Blue/Yellow, they should make the game more intuitive to play as well as more immersing.  I’ve outlined a lot of these changes here as well.

Perhaps the biggest change in gameplay is a new peripheral called the Pokewalker.  This external pedometer-styled device comes packaged with every game.  The Pokewalker is shaped like a Pokeball and can communicate with the DS game cartridge through infrared signals (the same technology used in some other current DS titles, such as Personal Trainer: Walking).  A single Pokemon can be carried in the Pokewalker at a time.  Walking with the Pokewalker will not only increase the Pokemon’s experience and improve its overall attitude toward its trainer, but also provides the player with Watts, a currency for the Pokewalker that can be used to purchase items and catch wild Pokemon.  (Even though this new feature is being bundled with every copy of Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, Nintendo has announced that it will not carry a heftier pricetag.) The Pokewalker is pictured below.

Similar to what Pikachu did in Pokemon Yellow, all 493 Pokemon have the ability to walk behind the character sprite in-game.  While size isn’t necessarily accurate in comparison with the player’s sprite, the player does have the ability to interact with the Pokemon following them by pressing A.  The player can then find out how the Pokemon is feeling right there in the moment.  When entering battle, the Pokemon following the player will appear from the side of the screen as opposed to from a Pokeball.  (Which makes sense, as the Pokemon was obviously not in a Pokeball prior to the start of battle.)  To choose what Pokemon a player wants to follow them is as easy as putting said Pokemon in the lead party slot.

The Start menu, Pokemon Storage System, bag, and party interface will all be viewed on the touch screen in HeartGold/SoulSilver, making them faster and easier to use.  As well as being able to set a single item for permanent use (such as the Running Shoes or the Bike), a player can now choose two items to set in such a manner, as opposed to just one.  Because the Running Shoes are such a popular choice, players now have an option to add in another item they frequently use, such as a Fishing Rod for easy use.

Legendary Pokemon from other regions are available in both games.  (For a list, please keep reading below.  I’ve included a bulleted list of Pokemon exclusive to each new game.)

Pokemon can now headbutt trees to shake out wild Pokemon again.  This ability continues after the Nationaldex is obtained, and the Pokemon that are shaken out can be from the Sinnoh region.

A new sidequest called the Pokethlon makes it’s appearance in these games.  It appears to be HeartGold/SoulSilver’s equivalent of the Contest system in previous games.  The Pokethlon pits Pokemon in 10 minigame styled competitions against each other.

Berries are very limited in HeartGold/SoulSilver.  They are obtainable in exchange for shards from Jugglers in Violet City.  However, the variety is very constrained.  The other berries can be traded over, however, from previous games.  Berries can also be grown remotely using the Pokewalker.

Swarm Pokemon are also making a reappearance.  Like in the original Gold/Silver games, you can listen to Professor Oak’s radio station daily and he will you when there is a swarm of Pokemon at a particular location.  These Pokemon will appear in vast quantities in a particular location for a very short time after Professor Oak’s announcement.

Due to the absence of a VS Seeker, the Pokegear has updated it’s former “Cell Phone” feature.  The new Cell Phone has a limitless call list.  Going back to rebattle trainers now depends on the day and time now, though.  This should cause players to plan wisely as well as letting the player interact with these NPCs as though they were more like real individuals by “scheduling” times to battle.

The starter Pokemon from Kanto and Hoeen are obtainable in each game after certain requirements have been met.

Many Pokemon have received updated, improved, and more well-rounded movesets through breeding.  Togepi, for instance, now has the ability to learn Extrasensory through breeding.  Breeding has also taken a step up in that specific Individual Values (which is basically a measure of how Pokemon grow in their stats as they evolve) can be passed down through Breeding with the use of certain items.

Commemorative photos can be taken at certain points in the game and viewed later from the Pokegear.  While these photos have no real effect on the overall game, they do add a sense of immersion.  They’re also sort of a kitschy addition that, while not necessary, I’m still sort of excited for.

Like in Pokemon Platinum, HeartGold/SoulSilver will allow players to rebattle Gym Leaders.  The Gym Leaders will have widely superior teams than in their first battles.  However, getting to these battles will take some persistence and organization.  The Gym Leaders will be found in the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City after you have scheduled a rematch with them.  (Thankfully, they stay there until you’ve beaten them so you don’t have to reschedule if you lose the first rematch.)

The host of Legendary Pokemon within HeartGold/SoulSilver is absolutely astounding.  While it does not encompass all of the Pokemon I would like to have at my disposal, there are more than I have ever seen obtainable in a single game previously.  Note that all of these can be obtained through the individual game (some will need the aid of a cooperating friend with the opposing title) without any special items or events that are not already programmed into the game.  (Basically, these Pokemon do not need to be obtained through a Nintendo Wireless Event.) Please see below for a list of the Legendary Pokemon awaiting your capture.

• Lugia
• Ho-oh
• Latias
• Latios
• Articuno
• Zapdos
• Moltres
• Mewtwo
• Suicune
• Raikou
• Entei
• Kyogre
• Groudon
• Rayquaza

HeartGold/SoulSilver is far from a perfect Pokemon game, however.  Just like in all the previous games, there are Pokemon that are unobtainable in these games.  Period.  While the list appears rather long, don’t fret.  A number of these Pokemon can be traded over from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum if you’re lucky enough to have a copy of that and a cooperating friend around.  The following is the most up-to-date and complete list of unobtainable Pokemon I’ve been able to compile.

• Mew
• Celebi
• Regirock
• Regice
• Registeel
• Jirachi
• Deoxys
• Turtwig
• Grotle
• Torterra
• Chimchar
• Monferno
• Infernape
• Piplup
• Prinplup
• Empoleon
• Cranidos
• Rampardos
• Shieldon
• Bastiodon
• Drifloon
• Drifblim
• Glameow
• Purugly
• Stunky
• Stuntank
• Magnezone
• Leafeon
• Glaceon
• Probopass
• Rotom
• Uxie
• Mesprit
• Azelf
• Heatran
• Regigigas
• Cresselia
• Phione
• Manaphy
• Darkrai
• Shaymin
• Arceus

Like the past few generations of games, Nintendo will be holding Wi-Fi Events to distribute particular Pokemon that would otherwise be unavailable in the games.  A number of these events have already been confirmed in Japan, though the dates have yet to be set for their American counterparts.  I can only pray that all of these events will reach America so that I may have a chance of obtaining these Pokemon as well.  (You hear that, Nintendo?  I want these Pokemon REALLY badly!)  Please remember that the dates for these Wi-Fi events are the confirmed Japanese Wi-Fi Event Dates.  There have been no confirmed Wi-Fi Event dates for America or Europe as far as I’m aware.

Yellow Forest: This event took place between September 18th and November 10th.  The gift provided a new course in the Pokewalker completely filled with Pikachu.  However, these Pikachu had a special move!

10th Anniversary Mew: This is the event I’m looking forward to the most.  All of my Pokemon-playing life, I have dreamed of obtaining a legitimate Mew from a sanctioned Nintendo event.  If I don’t make it to any of the other events, I will make this one.  The Mew you obtain will be at lvl 5 and know no special moves, perfect for training up exactly the way you want her.

There are currently other speculated events that have very little information.  I have not included information on these events for lack of credible source information.

As if I haven’t overloaded you with information yet, there’s still the matter of choosing between the two versions.  They are not the same in their entirety.  As with most versions of the Pokemon series, the two different titles differ slightly in the Pokemon that are available in each.  Included here are the lists of Pokemon that are exclusive to each title.

First, we’ll cover Pokemon exclusive to SoulSilver.

• Vulpix
• Ninetails
• Meowth
• Persian
• Ledyba
• Ledian
• Teddiursa
• Ursaring
• Delibird
• Skamory
• Mawile
• Gulpin
• Swalot
• Groudon

And these are exclusive to HeartGold

• Mankey
• Primeape
• Growlithe
• Arcanine
• Spinarak
• Ariados
• Gilgar
• Mantine
• Phanpy
• Donphan
• Sableye
• Baltoy
• Claydol
• Kyogre
• Mantyke
• Gliscor

And that is that.  Until March 14th, that is about all the information I can pull on these two spine-tingling new games.  Be advised, however, that this is far from the last you will hear on Pokemon.  After I’ve had a few days to plow through my games, you’ll get some more personal opinions on how all of these changes work.  Thanks for sticking with me through this rambling post.  I hope it provided you with some good information!

[Via http://hotpinkjoysticks.wordpress.com]

GourMania: Slice and dice your way to the top!

GourMania (68 MB download)
Do you have the skills to win a cook off among the top chefs at a glamorous resort? Begin your journey at a fast food joint, finding the ingredients for the sandwiches your customers want and the processing their orders before time runs out. Before the big showdown, you’ll save a Sushi Bar, a Pizza Parlor and more from shutting down, making you the most sought after chef in town! Just make sure to purchase the upgrades that will give you an edge. Full of slice-and-dice fun, GourMania is your ticket to the big leagues!

[Via http://oldgamer60.wordpress.com]

Build It Miami Beach Resort: Build a wonderful art-deco beach resort on a big scrollable map and develop the same city over 60 years!

Build It Miami Beach Resort (82 MB download)
Design and construct your own beach resort in the next edition of the popular simulation strategy game, Build It! Miami Beach Resort. The game begins in the 1920’s and time passes with each level as you develop the same city over a 60 year period! Witness the creation of art-deco hotels, the invention of the cinema, the first fast-food diner and the development of giant beachfront hotels. Design everything as you like it using huge scrollable map while completing challenging tasks on each level.

[Via http://neweducationalgames.wordpress.com]

Build-a-lot 3: Travel through Europe restoring houses for big profits!

Build-a-lot 3 (97 MB download)
Build-a-lot 3 is your passport to fun! Travel all over Europe as you restore rundown houses, develop friendly services and beautify neighborhoods with picturesque landmarks. The changing needs of the neighborhood will sure keep you busy – you may need to brave the rain and snow, deal with noisy neighbors, or even put out a small fire to get the job done on time! Pack your bags and let the fun take flight in this exciting sequel to the hit strategy game!

[Via http://newmanagementgames.wordpress.com]

Teleporting Cat

I really liked this old TI computer game, I think it was called Mouse Hunt, where the goal of the game was to simply navigate your way through a maze. Your cursor was shaped like a mouse, and the end of the maze was marked with a wedge of swiss cheese.

You set the difficulty of the maze on a scale of 1 to 20, or 1 to 40, or some number like that, with 1 being very short and simple and the highest number generating a maze that filled the whole screen and your mouse looked like a tiny grey dot.

If that still wasn’t challenging enough, you could add a cat or two to the maze. It was just a little 2-D picture of a cat’s face, and if it caught you, it was game over. Also, you could customize the cat. It could move slow, normal, fast, or lighting, and could be dumb or smart. Dumb, slow cats were the easiest to avoid: They moved randomly around the maze and at a slower speed than your cursor. Smart, lightning cats were difficult to get around because they would methodically patrol the maze at almost the speed of light.

But there was one unique feature of the game that, to this day, I still smile at when I think about it: the teleporting cat. Sometimes when I see a cat or think about the word cat, my brain sticks the word “teleporting” in there. This was just a toggle feature: Your cats either teleported or they didn’t. But when they did, it was great. The cat would be at one section of the maze one moment, and at another section the next. It took the predictability out of the cat’s movements, and made avoiding it more a game of luck than skill. I think the trigger for the cat to teleport was hitting a dead-end, but I don’t remember precisely. If you were extra suicidal in Mouse Hunt, you’d put two Smart Lightning Teleporting Cats in your maze and watch as you were caught the second you stepped foot into the maze

[Via http://anobi.wordpress.com]

Wedding Dash: Help Quinn make wedding bells ring!

Wedding Dash (17 MB download)
Help Quinn make wedding bells ring! Assist couples in selecting all the details – from tasty cakes to gorgeous flowers – but once they’ve tied the knot, look out for obstacles preventing the perfect party, such as tipsy guests, falling cakes, and catty bridesmaids. Can you keep the bride and groom happy and Quinn’s business afloat?

[Via http://newmanagementgames.wordpress.com]

Build a city of your dream with Virtual City game!

Build a city of your dream – a residential paradise or an industrial center. Build dwelling houses and industrial buildings. Produce goods and deliver them to the shopping malls. Setup mass-transit system to take your citizens to places like parks, cinemas and stadiums. Make your city a better place to live by recycling garbage, adding hospitals and fire stations, planting trees, and upgrading buildings to make them more eco-friendly. Make citizens happier by launching spectacular public events.
Trade with neighboring cities and accomplish the construction of landmark buildings like Marina, Train Depot, and Spaceship Launch Pad. Help troubled cities get back to prosperity, deal with economic downturn, population crisis, and consequences of natural disasters. Achieve balance between key parameters of your success: Time, Income, Environment, Population, and Happiness. Play over 50 challenging levels, and unleash your inner mayor in Free Play mode on 5 large sand box maps.
• 50 Challenging Levels in 5 Settings: Colorado, California, Michigan, Montana, New York
• 18 Distinct Mission Scenarios
• Free Play Mode on 5 Large Sand Box Maps
• More Than 50 Types of Buildings
• 25 Types of Goods to Transport and Trade
• 7 Production Chains to Master
• 16 Special Achievements to Earn
• Tens of Upgrades and Buildings to Unlock

Download Virtual City game and Make your city a better place to live in!

[Via http://bestsimulationgames.wordpress.com]

Casino Carpet Keeps Are Ugly So You Gamble More

The same goes for the ceilings. Look at the carpet and ceiling in the photo below.

The carpet is so busy and obnoxious, it’s actually hard to stare at — so you look up. The ceiling does the same thing with bright lights and focusing shapes, so you look down. What do you see? People gambling. That’s the only thing they want you to think about.

There is even a professor at the University of Nevada who wants casino carpet hermeneutics as a legitimate academic discourse.

The busy carpet has another advantage, it camouflages stains. Casino carpets get vacuumed once a day, usually between 3am and 6am so they need to hide dirt the rest of the time. In fact, anytime you see really busy fabrics in high traffic areas (office buildings, hotels, malls, theaters, etc.), they’re often selected for their stain hiding abilities.

Big thanks to Todd M for submitting this secret!

Photo: Old Shoe Woman (CC) | Sources: AC, SFGate, MeetingsNet

[Via http://brokensecrets.com]

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Have you had a chance to take a stroll into our Winter Wonderland snow globe at JumpStart.com? The Winter Wonderland is packed with special features in the exclusive snow globe, which admits elf-sized Jumpees only! To become the size of wee elves, your child’s Jumpee must submit themselves to the Elf-O-Matic for elfobetizing.

Voila, you're an elf.

Once the Jumpee has been converted to the right size, they can enter the snow globe Winter Wonderland.

Winter Wonderland Portal

There, they will find a bounty of activities, including:

• Special ice skating ice cavern

  An expansive ice skating rink!

• Balloon Rides
• High-speed sled races down the thrilling mountain-side
  

  Sled by this happy da-bomb-inable snowman at lightning speeds!

• And the Wonderland Express, a majestic train which may be departing soon!

• 

  Watch for the Wonderland Express to roll out soon!

  Not a member?  You can pick up the JumpStart.com Winter Wonderland package, lasting through January 31st, by clicking here.

Get Your Friends On-Board the Wonderland Express

[Via http://blog.jumpstart.com]

Game Enlists Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj For 'R.E.D.'

Now that Game’s R.E.D. album has been pushed back to 2010, he’s doing the right thing and putting the finishing touches on the project.

As previously reported Game’s been in the studio working on tracks with Pharrell and decided to show him his loyalty by getting his “Star Trak” emblem tattooed on his arm.

When he’s not busy paying homage to another man, he’s continuing to add new collabos to his forthcoming album.

His latest additions to the product include YM’s ‘Bride of Chucky’ Nicki Minaj and pop singer turned producer, Justin Timberlake.

Game spoke with Rap-Up about enlisting Timberlake for the project calling it “catastrophic.” He also added that he thinks the collaboration effort could earn him Grammy nods.

“Justin Timberlake came through last night…the vibe changed. It went to where I could see Grammy awards…so I had a really dope energy from him being in the booth last night…..never thought in my life that I would ever work with Justin, and then for it to turn out and be as catastrophic as it was amazing.”

While dishing out details on the JT collaboration, Game’s remained somewhat silent on the addition of Nicki Minaj. Remaining skimp on details he tweeted about the upcoming “classic” with the Barbie saying,

“Nicki Minaj made the R.E.D. album. gone be CLASSIC.”

Game’s R.E.D. album hits stores February 16, 2010.

[Via http://hiphopwired.com]

PHARREL GETS ROBBED BY MAGICIAN?!

OK, so I was joking about the being robbed but check it out, even Pharrel admitted he was going to check his bank account after.

By the way, word is that Game is ecstatic about the work that Pharrel has done on his forth coming album, so happy that he has just got a tattoo of Pharrel signifying their new friendship and pending success.

[Via http://lifepulseblog.com]

Paper: A Domain-Specific Embedded Language Approach for the Scripting of Game Artificial Intelligence

Yet again I have ignored this blog for quite some time – I’ve been really busy with an implementation of a game involving a Haskell back-end/Google Web Toolkit front-end (more on this in a future post)  and other deadlines. Anyways I thought I’d share more info on how 4Blocks’s AI was implemented using a DSL embedded in Haskell:

A Domain-Specific Embedded Language Approach for the Scripting of Game Artificial Intelligence, with Gordon Pace, in the Proceedings of the University of Malta Workshop in ICT (WICT’09), 2009.

More info on WICT can be found here. Co-incidentally thanks to Dr Pace’s Erdös Number of 4 I get to have one of at most 5.  Hope this short paper provides with some interesting lightweight reading. Also, any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[Via http://lambdacolyte.wordpress.com]

Gundam VS Gundam Next PLUS

Gundam VS Gundam NEXT PLUS

Merupakan game untuk PSP console game. Game ini merupkan seri terbaru dari Gundam VS Gundam game series. Untuk memainkannya diperlukan CFW 5.50 Gen D3 atau CFW 6.20

MS (Mobile suit) yang dapat dipakai lebih banyak daripada seri sebelumnya dimulai dari Seri Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) sampai dengan Gundam Unicorn (2010).

Untuk kendali MS nya tidak jauh berbeda dengan seri game sebelumnya, hanya saja kemampuan menangkis secara otomatis  sudah diganti dengan kemampuan menangkis manual.

Selamat mencoba.

[Via http://winestone.wordpress.com]

Amazing Adventures The Caribbean Secret: Explore the Caribbean and recover secret treasure!

Amazing Adventures The Caribbean Secret (43 MB download)
The Museum needs your help! Legend has it that a Spanish ship loaded with a fortune of gold went missing somewhere in the Caribbean. This mythical lost treasure is referred to by locals as the ‘Caribbean Secret’. Explore 25 amazing Caribbean locations finding over 2000 cleverly hidden objects and playing 8 unique mini-games to recover the Secret Treasure! Play three different game modes on your quest to help the museum recover the lost gold of legend. Good luck adventurer!

[Via http://neweducationalgames.wordpress.com]

Zombie Driver Review

“Epic!” – A great looking game.
“Cool.” – Solid mechanics and physics.
“Eeh…” – Repetitive missions.
“…Bleh…” – Headache inducing cameras.

Sometimes on my way home from work at night when there are no cars on the road with me, I like to pretend that I’m the only person left in the world after a zombie apocalypse, I try to imagine what it would be like to know that right over the next hill a swarm of the undead could be waiting for my headlights to awaken their primitive minds with the promise of fresh brains behind the wheel. I pretend that I’ve got machine-guns and rocket-launchers rigged onto my truck, and a simple button on my steering wheel will set off the turbo-boosters allowing me to accelerate ridiculously fast and easily ramp off the hill and soar over the zombie fiends.
That’s normal to think about while your driving, right? Right??
The folks at EXOR Studios took all of the above and produced Zombie Driver, a game in which you control a vehicle of your choosing and go around rescuing survivors of a zombie apocalypse that are stranded throughout the city.
Just seeing that the game was called Zombie Driver had me expecting very little from the game. I really thought I was going to get three basic things from the game: 1.) Fast cars 2.) Running over Zombies 3.) Weapons for my fast cars.
Check, check, and check. But wait, there’s more.
Not only do you get fast cars, you get environmentally invincible cars. That means that you can be going 100 mph and slam straight into a wall and take no damage. Of course the zombies will beat the bejesus out of your car if they get a hold of it, but this removes the added stress that would undoubtedly come from trying to obey traffic laws, thus increasing the arcade-y feel of the game by a lot.
If you take the time to slow down enough to look around you will see nothing but great looking environments, the graphics in Zombie Driver are surprisingly well done for such a simple game. It seems a shame that because there is no need to slow down, except the few times when you are picking up the stragglers, the only time you see the scenery is when it’s a blurry streak passing you by at 85 mph.
Speaking of blurry, if you get the slightest bit of motion sickness from anything, Zombie Driver is not for you. There is something about the movement of the camera that was just giving me a headache, and I never get motion sick from anything. I could only really play Zombie Driver for about 20 minutes at a time with a short break in between to avoid getting too dizzy. Perhaps a top down camera angle wasn’t the best choice, it seemed too…claustrophobic. Like, I couldn’t really see past the edge of my screen, and in a city full of zombies I think seeing where you are heading is a pretty important thing.
If you are expecting me to go deep into the story of the game, well I’m going to disappoint you, not because I like to disappoint you, but because there really isn’t a story. There is a bit of narrative during the loading screen to each level, which makes it seem like some sort of story was attempted, but it just kinda got old reading the same sort of “go rescue these people” message between each level. I stopped reading the briefings after the third level. The developers might have just been better off sticking with a “just rescue the people at each level” overall message, then try to correlate it all into some sort of plot.

Zombie Driver is a straightforward vehicle based zombie-slaying arcade game. If you think running over zombies with a limousine and a flamethrower attached to the top of your limo sounds like fun, well then head on over to: The Zombie Driver STEAM download page and download it! It’s only ten bucks, too!
Final Grade: C+

PS: While writing this article I came across a video of a “Darkness Mod” for Zombie Driver, it makes the game happen at night and the only lights are coming from your car’s headlights and wherever there is a fire burning. It looks really impressive and adds a whole new feel to the game.

EXOR Studios Homepage

*According to new blogging regulations I must tell you that the kind folks at EXOR Studios provided me with a copy of Zombie Driver which I based my review upon.*

[Via http://mountolympus.wordpress.com]

Symbll Day 2

I’ve been thinking about how to explain the game to players without the use of text. My conclusion: it is possible, but there will a huge tutorial. Now I know that tutorials are somewhat tedious, and every game has a “tutorial island” which really isn’t necessary in most cases. Symbll’s tutorial will be optional, and split into smaller optional segments(about 10 second sequences that repeat as needed). When a player clicks on the tutorial symbol(blackboard or some learning icon) and a screen will come up listing all of the different subjects covered. Each subject will be represented by the icon that is used in the game. For example, the cash icon will have the sub-tutorials of where money is displayed in the game, how to make money, how money is spent, and all the other subjects about money. I think this will fully explain the game for any one who wanders, “What does that icon mean, and how is it affected?” Maybe I will split the tutorial screen in half, and on one side have an interactive screen of the game, and the other half list all of the subjects. Then a player can just click on the icon from the interactive screen instead of having to search through a list. Hmmmm…..

I worked last night on thinking of objects that need icons. Plants, benches, fountains…do these need to be in the game? I think so.

After some consideration I might also throw in Line of Sight for the shoppers. The way I see it, everyone has a different line of sight, and a major part of malls are to get people to look around. Line of Sight for each shopper could be widened if they like some object (or event), and narrowed if they dislike some object. Players will have to balance out these effects, so if a store is placed next to a bathroom shoppers might not notice the shop(focusing only on reaching the bathroom). Advertisement would also be an issue, stores provide a sign and the player must decide where to place the sign so shoppers can see it and walk to the store before being distracted. I’ll try to make these aspects fun and not some tedious chore.

I’m not sure what to use to create the game. I might just go straight C# or C++. Should I use a search engine? I’ll worry about that latter, after I finish all of the gameplay elements and design all the icons. Don’t want to rush things. In reallity I don’t expect to begin programming for a couple months. I know there are those who say to rush a prototype…I’ll probably just make a paper and pencil game first.

[Via http://quasiternal.wordpress.com]

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines - Review (PSP)

As someone who quite enjoyed the first Assassin’s Creed game, despite it’s somewhat repetitive nature, I was really looking forward to stepping back into Altair’s shoes.

Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines picks up after the end of the previous game, with Altair travelling to Cyprus to seek out and destroy the last of the Templars.

Having been playing Assassin’s Creed 2 alongside it the button set up felt natural but it might seem a little confusing at first, with three sets of controls attributed to the face buttons depending on what else you’re pressing.

So on their own they perform low level feats such as blending into a crowd etc, with the left shoulder button held they control the camera angle and with the right shoulder button held they perform high risk feats such as climbing/assassinations etc. It sounds more complicated than it is!

Unfortunately, as is the case for the two PS3 games (though less so for Assassin’s Creed 2, which is a lot more intuitive), this means you’ll often be trying to flee by climbing and the game won’t recognize your button press in time. It doesn’t happen too much thankfully and when the system works it is thrilling.

Obviously being a handheld title the AI doesn’t challenge too much and it was a little easy to just blend into a crowd after murdering someone but once the alert is raised they will persue you fairly relentlessly – which is great.

They come in numbers as well, although you’ll probably not have more than 4 or 5 around you at one time. Believe me that is more than enough – on a few occasions I found myself ducking out of fight situations and making a run for it

The storyline was fairly interesting and concerned the Templar archive that Altair was trying to track down.

On the downside the audio was pretty poor, not only in terms of voice acting but also the spoken word parts skipped and jumped in places (switch the subtitles on!).

The gameplay itself is a touch repetitive and overall the experience reminded me much of the first game rather than the improved sequel.

The graphics are superb and Altair has some great assassination animations. There was no slowdown or anything like that, even with numerous enemies and civilians on screen. It’s nice to see people pushing the PSP.

One thing that is cool is the connectivity between the PSP game and Assassin’s Creed 2 on the PS3. Depending on your progress you can unlock new things in both – to be honest it’s better going from the PSP to PS3 as you get 6 new weapons (sweet ) whereas on the PSP you get a few bits, like being able to block with the hidden blade etc. Would love to see more games do this.

Overall then Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines reminds me a lot of the Syphon Filter PSP games – good fun to play but a touch repetitive and without major challenge. Definitely worth a play though.

This gets an 8 rather than a 7 for the very cool connectivity idea.

Rating: 8/10

[Via http://greghorrorshow.wordpress.com]