Darkside Chronicles (Wii): New Trailer

Fifa 10 DS

My interest in football (soccer for my friends across the pond) games has been sporadic at best. The first football game I played with any regularity was Sega World Wide Soccer '97 on the Saturn. Fast forward to 2004 and I had a big stint playing Sega World Wide Soccer 2000 (Euro Edition) on the Dreamcast. But the playing of the two most popular franchises, Pro-Evolution Soccer or Fifa, (usually against my sons) would result in huge 'hissy fits', controller-throwing and general all round bad sportsmanship on my part.

In 2007, however, I found my footballing nirvana in the unlikely form of Fifa 07 for the DS. No longer did I have to play my sons, no longer did I have to face the humiliation of being out-skilled, out-played and generally shown up as inferior. Now my only opposition was the CPU players, and they soon turned out to be little opposition at all.

I played that particular title to death. I played it as my beloved Manchester City, (a club who in 'real life' have not won a domestic or European title for over thirty years) and took them to unprecedented heights of glory. For five seasons I won everything, the premiership, the FA Cup, the European cup and the Community Shield. The game could also be played in it's entirety without using the stylus or touch screen, which was great because my first generation DS was very poorly at the time!

However, time moves on, and a new DS demanded a new Fifa. Besides, Manchester City have gone through such a major squad shake up since their financial revolution, that there was only Stephen Ireland and Micah Richards from the '07 line up still in the squad in 2009. The kits had changed and... well... damn it! I just wanted an update! Now I did have Fifa 09 for the PSP (it came bundled with my PSP which also had a stick-on Fifa 09 'skin') but I never got into it, preferring instead to stick with my beloved DS '07 game. So buying the new Fifa 10 at full price was a big deal for me.

I was full of anticipation when I put the cartridge into my DS. Sure enough, apart from the inclusion of Richard Dunne, the squad was all present and correct. The new stylish black away kit was there and all looked good! I eagerly looked for the 'career mode' with which I had had such success on Fifa 07, but alas it wasn't there! Instead it had been replaced by a mode called "Be A Pro". Rather than guiding your team to glory, the emphasis was now on the career of one player, who has to succeed at a series of challenges in order to progress through the ranks of the home team and be selected by coaches for international duty.

Unfortunately, this was SO different from the game play of the '07 edition, that I found it almost impossible to play, let alone find any success. I was massively disappointed and about to vent my spleen over here at Gnome's Gaming On The Go. That was before I switched game modes. 'Kick Off' Mode' allows you to play a one off match against any rival of your choice. It also gives you the choice of playing in the "Be A Pro" mode, or "Classic" mode. And it was in "Classic" mode, that I found my salvation.

Although not exactly the same as Fifa '07, it was similar enough for me to play with some degree of success. The 'game settings' allows you to set the game's difficulty level, according to your own skill level. I set the CPU skill at 'amateur' and got rid of the 'offside' rule to allow the game greater flow. The ability to play a variety of tournaments in "Classic" mode means I've already taken Manchester City to the final of the English FA Cup (which I won on penalties). However, this incarnation of the game does not give one the option of taking a mid-table club into Europe... You can only play as one one of the the English Premiership's top four teams - Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea, which is a bit of a bummer!

One of the biggest changes so far is the use of the stylus. During penalty shoot outs, the stylus is employed as a means of shooting (by swiping the stylus towards the goal) and saving (a large pair of gloves appear in the goal which you move with the stylus to save the opposition's shot.) I love this feature! It helped me win the FA cup ha ha!

Now I realise that this is a very subjective review (mine always are...) so I'll provide links to more informative sites... Would I recommend it as a full price purchase? Well, no. You can pick up Fifa 07, 08 and 09 for buttons in second hand gaming emporiums. If it's 'game play' you're after then these titles will more than adequately suffice. If you are anal about having current players and kits then go ahead and splurge your hard earned pennies on Fifa 10. But it's because of people like me that EA are able to squeeze cash from a gullible audience every time they bring out a new football or golf game.

However, if you see Fifa 10 cheap or even with a few quid/euros/dollars knocked off, it's a great game for the handheld gamer, which can be played in short little bursts, as a handheld titles should be.

Father K Rating: 7.5/10!

Fifa 10 DS IGN

Fifa 10 DS Review

FIFA Soccer 10 at IGN.com

This Is It - Mini Review

Wow! Halloween looked like it was going to be a bit of a wash out, till Mrs. K suggested that we go and see "This Is It" to mark the day and to give us something special to do on this most special of nights

We took Little Ted, who rather sweetly said he would like to go because he'd "never been to a concert." I wasn't quite sure what we'd be seeing though, a stunning record of Michael's last performances, a taster of what the concert would have been like, or a bit of a disappointment, like the accompanying CD that I lambasted on these very pages?

In short, the film was brilliant. Mike did not look sick, he did not look like a drug addict, he did not look "odd" and he did not look 50! He looked great! His movements were tight, his voice note and pitch perfect and clearly the vision for the whole show was as much his as it was long time collaborator Kenny Ortega.

What was great was seeing Mike's normality, his personality, his humbleness and his interaction with others. When for years, we have had the most negative press, showing Mike in his masks, on crutches, in wheel chairs etc, it's just great to see him as an iconic entertainer, somehow fused with a normal, likable guy.

The film has captured the very essence of Michael's magic, showing everyone just why he was so celebrated before the negative conspiracy to bring him down began. My favourite parts of the movie were the film sequences, which had been done to enhance (and no doubt pad out) the show.

The film sequence for Smooth Criminal was amazing, with Mike somehow sequenced into a Humphrey Bogart movie, interacting with him and culminating in Mike firing off a Tommy Gun!

The movie for Thriller (cleverly fused with a snippet of 'Ghosts') and intended to be a 3D sequence for the concert, looked amazing. But it must have been either a late part of the concert that Mike didn't get the chance to interact with, or Mike wasn't well when they were doing it. Either way, he didn't seem to be that into it. The film for Earth Song was amazing too, but I'll let you see that for yourselves.

The one part of the film that I didn't get into, was seeing mike doing a Jackson 5 medley. It was interesting to note that Mike didn't do one song from the 'Invincible' album, his only CD release this millennium. Why do 40 year old songs with backing singers standing in for his brothers, when he could have brought us (for the first time) the chance to see his 'newest' material live?

Still, that was a very small gripe, in a film that I would have to give 10/10 as an overall score. Having had to watch recycled material and old videos over and over, to see Michael in this fresh, new, contemporary context was sheer bliss. I can't recommend this film highly enough. Do yourself a favour and go and see it. If you're in any way a fan of Michael or even just a fan of excellent musicianship, you can't fail to enjoy it.

Happy Halloween!

Cardboard skeleton? Check! Cardboard mummy? Check! Polystyrene tombstones? Check! Tacky plastic banners? Check! Talking skull with googly moving eyes? Check!

I absolutely love Halloween, it only comes a very close second to Christmas in terms of annual holidays... Normally in the Krishna household, we celebrate Halloween excessively, decorating the whole house, carving up a whole heap of pumpkins and root vegetables, getting in tons of sweets and having a big 'drink up' with anyone who cares to call on us.

Last year we threw a big costume party, and had a great time! Alas, this year, no 'drink up', no party, no callers and no dressing up. I was feeling very un-festive this year, and slightly depressed about the lack of festivities ahead. No drinkies for me, doctors orders... meh!!!

However, just at the last minute, I ordered the Halloween box be brought down from the loft, and I threw up a few decorations for the weekend. Even though we have no festivities planned, we are going to the cinema to see Michael Jackson's "This Is It". (That's me, Mrs. K and Little Ted, my youngest son.)

Me and Ted are also carving a pumpkin and there will be a selection of horror films being watched before and after the cinema trip. I started Silent Hill 2 yesterday and I'll also be blasting a few zombies in House Of The Dead Overkill. (HOTD on the Saturn has been a Halloween staple for some years, now it's the Wii's turn!) Oh and I'll also be watching Michale Jackson's "Ghosts" which is far superior to "Thriller" and well worth checking out if you've never seen it (I'll throw a taster video at the end of the post!)

Anyway, no matter what you're doing on this most wonderful of days, may I be one of the first to wish you a very "Happy Halloween!"

Michael Jackson - Ghosts
Uploaded by Wakazai. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Maworld Purchased

I picked up Madworld for the Wii second hand for £13. I guess I'm now guilty of not supporting this mature, original Wii content first hand, and therefore fuelling the accusation that the Wii is only for family friendly fun games. (But I NEVER buy them however) I remember J and Junlee being up for this one when it was in development. Then we all lost interest in our Wiis and I guess the game was forgotten to an extent.

That means I've now got Madworld and House Of The Dead Overkill to play. I just never play the Wii! Still, Resident Evil the Darkside Chronicles are out soon, so, I'm gonna have to dust it off and get used to sitting in the front room to play!

Brutal Legend: First Impressions

I've seen Brutal Legend on the gaming horizon for many months now. I know the game's developer has a great reputation for witty and intelligent games in the past. I also knew it was a heavy metal themed game and that it was a vehicle for Jack Black's talent. You would have thought all of those factors would have meant the game would have been hot on my "to play" list. But it wasn't, not at all.

It was only seeing my son play the demo level on Saturday morning (he subsequently purchased the game) that has changed my mind at all. The game looks hot! Visually the graphics are luscious, with a nice 'cartoony' feel to them. The game world looks like it was zapped straight out of a seventies prog rock album cover or an Iron Maiden landscape (I'm surprised 'Eddie' doesn't make a cameo!)

Several rock legends do though. So far I've seen Lemmy from Motorhead (who was also the arms dealer in the seminal Scarface). I've also seen Ozzy, who sounds brilliant and fits right in with the game. Apparently Judas Priest's Rob Halford makes an appearance at some point too.

Of course Jack Black is excellent, he always is. I wouldn't have given this game a second look unless it had jumped right into my living room, which luckily it has! I'll definitely give it a playthrough some time soon, as I understand it's a short game, which suits me fine! Check out the videos and see what you think!

Two Arrivals In The Post

I got my Twinkies! And whilst they might not have been '£1.60 a piece' good, they were absolutely delicious. The first one I ate without a drink, whilst feeling a little nauseous (due to the cocktail of 40 or so tablets I take each day). As I'm sure you can imagine, that one wasn't that great!

The next one, however, I ate whilst feeling fine and accompanied with a nice decaf Latte'. Now that was GOOD with a capital 'G'! Creamy, spongey, Twinki-licious! My little son, Ted, is also a big fan, although to qualify that, he is actually a fan of anything containing sugar, so no surprise there!

The second item I got through the post was the "This Is It" CD, the latest release from my favourite late artist, Mr. Michael Joseph Jackson. So what do we have? A fancy pants package containing the same recycled tunes that I harped on about earlier on the site. Nothing 'new' at all. I was always going to buy it, I'm a completist after all. But you can register me "underwhelmed" by Mike's latest release. So all in all, the Twinkies were the better of the two purchases.

Hostess 1 Jackson 0 ;)