Planet Sillicon

Review sparks interest

By blog on Sep. 19, 2009.

I’m talking about the new Uncharted game, Among Thieves, and the strong review it received from IGN.

When I was looking into whether or not purchasing a PS3 would be a good idea for me, personally, I found the first Uncharted game touted as being among the best on the system. I looked up videos and reviews and thought that it looked like a really great game, it’s on my list of games to get.

I was perusing IGN as I normally do, and then noticed that in the few minutes I’d been on the site, the Uncharted 2 review had gone up. I eagerly clicked on the link to the video review, and watched on rather happily, finding the game was even better than I’d expected.

I’ve yet to play it, so I can only work from the review and my impressions of what I’ve seen in videos, but this game does look really, really good. The graphics are mind bogglingly good, and the story looks to be a heck of a lot of fun. Seriously, trekking around the world in search of treasure? It’s like being Indiana Jones but without the cliché!

The voice acting seems nicely done, and the character models move really well. The locations look to be quite varied and lots of fun, from verdant jungle to icy mountain sides, it all looks really great.

The game received a 9.5 from IGN, a fantastic score, and is currently sitting at 10 even for the reader average. That’s a pretty amazing score, there, and I really hope the game is as good as they say.

My only draw back is that I’m a little disappointed by ten hours of single play. Co-op is fun, I’d like to try that, but I’m not hugely into online play, so this aspect doesn’t make up for only ten hours of actual story-mode gameplay.

Nonetheless I fully intend on picking this game up, after I’ve picked up the first one, of course!

Rock Band: The Beatles

By blog on Sep. 13, 2009.

This is my look at the latest Rock Band title, The Beatles…

Firstly, lets be clear, I’ve not played any of the Rock Band, Guitar Hero, games… at all. Nor any of those ‘Sing Star’ games. I’ve not had a PlayStation in a long while, and I’ve not felt compelled to play these games in spite of generally liking rhythm games. I think it’s being told to like them that puts me off… Does that make me contrary? Maybe…

Anyway, this one is getting some odd reactions. Reviewers are treating it like the bees knees, the cat’s meow, and all sorts of animal related idioms. It’s sitting at 9.0 on IGN, and Metacritic is showing it at 89, but there seems to be some less than stellar fan reviews. Basically, there are two camps regarding this game.

First camp, the major review sites. They say it’s awesome, great song list, visuals are pretty good, sound is pretty good, not a huge challenge of a Rock Band game, though. Second camp, the players. A heck of a lot of players are panning this game due to how easy it is, which leads to it getting boring quickly, and the fact that the amount of songs on the game compared to the amount of songs that you can download if you pay for. If you’ve read much of my blog you’ll know I absolutely detest games being released with downloadable content already available should you pay for it. That’s total BS, in my opinion, and just a very nasty practice being used by game producers.

So, where do I sit in all this? It seems to me that if you like The Beatles and you have a PS3, you’d be a little silly not to get this game at some point. However, if you’re like me, and The Beatles aren’t really your thing, then this probably isn’t the title for you. So, I think I’ll continue along having not played any of the Rock Band games until one comes along that is just too awesome to pass up. This title does not meet this standard for me, but as I said, I think Beatles fans will go mental for it.

Final Fantasy XIII

By blog on Sep. 10, 2009.

The game is set to ship to our shores mid next year, but that’s a while off, and for the moment, I can talk about impressions about the game so far.

The storyline is set around the expulsion of a race, called the fal’Cie, by humans, from a floating paradise like city called Cocoon. Originally the fal’Cie created Cocoon for humans, but thirteen centuries later, humans are scared of the fal’Cie, because some of them can become l’Cie, which are people with special destinies, which if they don’t fulfil, become Cie Corpses, which are big scary monsters. The humans are trying to force the fal’Cie to move back to the surface of the planet, called Pulse, which has strange effects on people and the governing body of Cocoon, the Theocratic Sanctum, have a staunch quarantine that anyone who’s been to the surface of Pulse can’t get back into Cocoon.

The story centres around a few characters, which all happen to become l’Cie, even though they didn’t want that to happen, and their fight against the army, called PSICOM, to stop them purging Cocoon of the fal’Cie.

The story line is intriguing, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out. There is a demo and a couple of trailers available to watch here on IGN, which show the game to be just amazing. The most impressive visuals on an RPG yet, in my opinion, and the transition between cut-scene and in-game is startlingly similar.

It’s nice to see the good ol’ Eidolons back, with Odin, Shiva, Ifrit, and Carbuncle, and apparently, not only their respective summoning scenes are amazing, but you can also combine your character with their Eidolon to get some form of… transportation that can do damage during battles. Odin becomes a horse like creature that his summoner, Lightning, can ride, whilst Shiva is actually summoned in the form of two sisters, Nix and Styria, and they turn into a motorcycle that their summoner, Snow, can ride. Carbuncle is summoned by Vanille, and he turns into a disc, and Ifrit, who is summoned by Sazh, turns into a hotrod racing car.

I really can’t wait to get my hands on this game, do yourself a favour and check out those videos on IGN.

First Impressions of the PS3 Slim

By blog on Sep. 4, 2009.

Because I’ve just gotten my brand new console, the PS3 Slim, so I’ve decided to review the console, or at least my first hours playing it, here today.

As a side note, look out in my upcoming entries for reviews of the four games I purchased with the console. SoulCalibur IV, InFamous, GTA IV, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Now, onto the actual impressions of the machine so far. I’ve not had a PS3 in the past, so the console as a whole is a new experience, let alone the updated version. I found it to be surprisingly heavy when I was carting it back to my car from the store, which was a pleasant surprise. I don’t like when consoles are very light, it seems cheap. You’ll find that both the other ‘Generation 7′ consoles also have a weightiness to them that is really very pleasing to hold.

In keeping with the Wii, the PS3 uses no disc tray, rather you slide the disc into a slot where I believe there is a small monster on the inside of the console who takes the disc and places it where it needs to be… I don’t really mean that… or do I?

The console is auto set to be used with AV cables, rather than a HDMI cable. You also have to purchase the HDMI cable separately, along with controllers – only one comes in the box – and the remote and any other devices. When you load up the console originally, if you are using the HDMI cables you have to hold the power button until you’ve heard it beep twice, then it will pick up the HDMI input and you can adjust your resolution to be the same as your television. The fact that you have to pay for HDMI cables separately is my only complaint with this console.

It’s a nice looking machine, in my opinion, and I think the matte looks better than the original glossy finish. If it’s fingerprint resistant, then it seems somewhat more… professional, to me anyway. It’s quiet, and I like the system interface, too. So that’s all from my first day of playing the PS3 Slim, in the following days, maybe weeks depending on how much I play any one game, I’ll be reviewing those four games, too.

Anticipating Dragon Age Origins

By blog on Aug. 28, 2009.

There are a lot of PS3 games that I am looking forward to getting my hands on, and this one here is right up on that list…

This is an Action RPG sort of game, from the creators of some of the best games ever. Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal, is still one of my favourite games of all time. These are also the creative minds behind Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Neverwinter Nights II. So some really stand up games there, definitely this team turns out some of the best content in gaming so far.

Now, when I first saw this title I wasn’t really sold… I don’t know exactly why, it just felt somewhat not up to par with BioWare’s previous titles, but the more I looked at the game, and the tons of videos they have on their website and IGN is also hosting, the game really took off in appeal. Sure it’s gory as heck, but that’s part and parcel of fighting back hordes of evil creatures.

The game has a huge focus on your ‘origin’ story. Where you came from. This doesn’t only include your race, but also includes you social status and class. For instance, the human noble origin story starts you off defending a castle, whilst the dwarf commoner story starts you off working for a crime lord. It’s all very interesting, and the cinematic scenes look quite good, too.

Character creation looks to be done nicely, and it is very refreshing to be given such free range in character design whilst we are still getting nigh on full voice acting. I can easily see this game spawning a sequel or two, and I wouldn’t mind that. It’s going to be released across all platforms, with the PS3 coming last as BioWare is less familiar with developing for that console. The game will ship early November for 360 and PC, and PS3 will be later in that month.

Time for a PS3 – Part 2

By blog on Jul. 31, 2009.

Now the second part of my last post.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger: This game looks fantastic! Very unique look to the game, with some amazing characters. I’m excited to play off against my SO and learn my way around all the interesting characters. It’s nice to see a fighting game where so much effort has been put into the backgrounds, as well as non-generic characters. I like the complexity of the fighting mechanic too, button mashing will only get you so far.

Soulcalibur IV: Another fighting game, but one that I am more familiar with. I’ve always found these games to be very entertaining, and a nice divergence from the norm to be able to fight in these sorts of games with weapons. I think this is the only fighting game where you really get to use a weapon, and the game has always been really slick. You can button mash to a small extent, but in the end you do need to learn the controls of the game to really excel. It’s nice to see the old characters we know so well, with a few new ones thrown in there too. Darth Vader makes an appearance in the PS3 version, and apparently is good to fight with… not as ridiculously over-powered as Yoda in the 360 version.

Metal Gear Solid 4: This game looks amazing; it has been called one of the best games of all time. I’m very impressed by the graphics, as well as the story-line. I respect where the franchise has taken the main character, and like this fond farewell to him. I find the story of the entire world to be a war-zone thanks to PMCs to be very interesting, and look forward to see how it all plays out.

Final Fantasy XIII: The Final Fantasy series is one that has well and truly stood the test of time. I’ve enjoyed every iteration of the game that I have played, and I am really looking forward to the release of this one. The trailer looks amazing, and the voice acting seems to be quite good. The story is intriguing, and I am really happy to see the good old GFs included. This game is set to ship later this year.

There are other games out there that look amazing for this console, but these are the ones I am most interested in right now.

Time for a PS3 – Part 1

By blog on Jul. 30, 2009.

I think it is now time for a PS3. I’ve waited for a while before getting one, mainly because the price was ludicrous to begin with, but it’s come down now and I think it’s quite fair.

I’ve been an Xbox 360 and PC Gamer for a long time now, mainly PC for the last few years, but before that, I had an Xbox and then an Xbox 360 as well. Before that I had a PlayStation, but I went the way of Xbox instead of moving onto a PS2, as the hardware was much better. Now, though, I want to get back into console gaming. PC gaming is great, there is often a good range, the Real Time Strategy games can’t be beaten, and there are other benefits to the PC, but there is the bugginess that often plagues PC games. I own Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Far Cry 2, for instance, and can’t play any of them due to bugginess.

When I do get the console, I am interested in a few games specifically. I’ve no doubt there are others out there I would want to play, and I’m sure that there are games on the horizon that I’m not aware of but would want to play, but for now, here are three of the six games that have most caught my eye.

Little Big Planet: This is a rather unusual console game, because not only is it a rather nice looking platformer, it also allows players to create their own levels, and share them on the online community, where they can download other people’s created levels and play them. It looks like a lot of fun, and very unique, and Sack Boy is a fun little mascot that diverges from the norm.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma: Whilst this is a re-release of an original title, the game nonetheless looks amazing. It is somewhat off putting that the game is not really giving any new gameplay, that you will be re-playing an old game with better graphics, but it was a good game originally so I do look forward to playing it again. There is some new gameplay, being able to play as Rachel seems like a nice change of pace for a short while, but I am just really looking forward to flipping around as a Ninja.

Infamous: This is a game that looks like a heck of a lot of fun. It has that comic book vibe, but isn’t based on a comic in existence, which means that it can be designed to work in game-form, rather than comic-form. It is set in a sand-box style city, and you play a character who has recently gained special abilities which all revolve around the use of electricity. I like the karma aspect of the game, where your decisions make an obvious difference. When you’re closer to the Hero side, your electric attacks are blue and white, and when you are closer to the Infamous side, your attacks are red and black.

Before this entry becomes enormous, I’m going to move onto a second post.