• 16Sep 08

  I Made Beer

  That's right, it's not just that Jesus bloke that can turn water into wine, you can do it from the comfort of your own home! After receiving a homebrew kit for Christmas 06 and doing nothing with it for 2 and a half years I am seriously regretting my laziness. It's great! For just a few quid and about three man hours I became the proud father of 40 pints of malty goodness. I gave a fair few bottles away (to rave reviews I might add) but drank the lion's share over a sodden week or so. The second brew of banana beer is almost ready and a sneaky preview-half last night tasted ace.
  
  Any other Gamespotters into the homebrew? As the UK slips into recession it just makes sense. I wonder if it's easy to make gin.....
  
  As for games and that, I clocked Bioshock a few weeks ago and loved it. Then I bought The Orange Box and completed Half-Life 2 again, then worked my way through Episode 1 (good but not great) and I am just nearing the end of Episode 2 which is absolutely fantastic. I am seriously blown away by this installment. The second act was a bit of a trudge but once you are back on the surface it just gets better and better. Also, Portal is a real gem. I am yet to try Team Fortress 2. Do many people play this much anymore?
  
  Sadly, I am still having my ass handed to me on R6: Vegas. My pride hurts. Any tips would be welcome.
  • Posted Sep 16, 2008 7:47 am PT
  • Category: General
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• 21Aug 08

  Thoughts Inspired by the Too Human Review

  I noticed that there has been a lot of wrangling from Gamespotters about the Too Human review that appeared a few days ago. A lot of users have (spuriously) connected the low score with an alleged drop in quality in Gamespot. Comments along the lines of "You've lost all credibility," and "We can't trust you anymore" have been slapped under Kevin VanOrd's review and I think this is a little unfair because I think that the review is great. The reason why is that I completely agree with it.
  
  Although I have only played the demo, I found it distinctly annoying. Let's be honest, the story and character setup made no sense whatsoever. In fact, it was bewildering. I have since discovered that it is a retelling of Norse mythology and I am still none the wiser. Comments under the review stated that of course, those interested in the game have a good knowledge of Norse mythology. That's nonsense, I think there are a few 'Google Experts' overstating the case here. I enjoyed Return of the King (game and film) but I will concede that the storytelling in the game was sketchy at best and if that knocked a few points off the review, so what. I knew the story and it enhanced the game experience but as a stand-alone game it was confusing and I'm not offended by that fact.
  
  The gameplay for Too Human was fun, scooting around with melee attacks and using the right stick to target enemies was exciting and the demo had a good compromise between the two. However the cracks showed when Baldur continued to target fallen enemies and after suffering at the hands of the odd inescapable and subsequently fatal petrification in Jade Empire I can totally understand the frustration with those status effects.
  
  These design choices could be a hangover from when the game was initially conceived (over 10 years ago) but as the game industry matures we demand more from it. I loved Resident Evil 2 but on playing Resident Evil 0 five years later I won't let any nostalgic haze convince me that the control system was anything but cumbersome. Similarly RE4 seemed like complete freedom in comparison at the time, but now I will admit that Leon's tank-like controls demanded a lot of compromises. I won't get snooty because something I loved has flaws because I have grown up with the technology.
  
  Ultimately, a lot of people have been waiting for Too Human for a very long time and in their minds it's already good. It has to be or what were they waiting for? This is a bit silly, isn't it? Just because your long awaited game isn't what you had hoped don't lash out in an effort to soothe your disappointment, just buy the game and enjoy it. I loved the Ghost in the Shell PS2 game but if someone were to point that in fact it's derivative, repetitive and bland I would agree. The faults are glaringly obvious but so what? I had a good time with it.
  
  When a game isn't as well received as we had hoped there are two choices, acceptance or denial.
  
  Acceptance: Give the game a go and if you still like it, stick at it and who cares what Gamespot thinks. If not, shrug your shoulders, walk away and don't take it personally.
  
  Denial: Give the game a go and just like it whatever the case and if you fancy, use the faceless anonymity of the internet to irrationally slate all dissenters. Lock the door to truth and cosy up to ignorance.
  
  The choice is yours
  • Posted Aug 21, 2008 8:03 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 25Jul 08

  Gears of Whhaaaaat, not again!

  I finally clocked Gears of War last night and in all honesty it was a struggle as the final boss was an absolute nightmare. I must have failed about 20 times before I finally managed to nail the bastard and then I had to employ game-bending tactics to do it. The 2 foot square concrete block between us didn't stop me blind-firing two clipfuls into his chin but thankfully (and miraculously) it did stop him from looking down to shoot! It was like in Goldeneye where you could run right up to Jaws and he couldn't shoot you because his arms were too long.
  
  I have been putting a few hours into Rainbow 6: Vegas online recently and it has been fun. I have been tentatively putting the word out on Gamespot to see if anyone else still plays it but seeing as it has a sequel I think it's one of those games that is gradually dropping out of sight. I had a few games of Survival last night with some American guys and it was hilarious. As players are knocked out they appear on the mic to help, hinder or otherwise the surviving players. The only problem was that I couldn't concentrate as they were so funny.
  
  The only game time I will be having this weekend is a few blurry games of Wii Tennis as I am off to my mates in Brackley to attend their village beer festival. Hopefully this time tomorrow I will be sitting outside the town hall with a lovely pint of Skullsplitter talking absolute nonsense with all my mates. As Frankie Howerd would say, Salutay.
  • Posted Jul 25, 2008 6:41 am PT
  • Category: General
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