Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles (Wii)

I've not really found anything to really suck me in gaming-wise since finishing Resident Evil 5. My immediate reaction to finishing it, was to play Umbrella Chronicles on the Wii, which reminded me of how good, both the game (and perhaps more importantly,) the console are. The idea of an 'on-rails' light-gun game having as much content and game-play as a standard Resi game was a novel one. It is a format I have found compelling to play on a regular basis since I bought it, although total completion of the title is something that still eludes me!




You can imagine my joy at finding out there is to be a sequel, the hotly anticipated RE: Darkside Chronicles, which re-works the events of RE2 in a 'current gen' format for the first time. Having enjoyed RE Code Veronica, RE Dead Aim, RE: Outbreak File #.2 and Umbrella Chronicles, I'm very excited to see another RE 'offshoot' so soon after RE5.
Oh, and as well as Leon S. Kennedy in his S.T.A.R.S incarnation, you'll also be able to play as Claire Redfield and Ada Wong! Woot!


Actually, Capcom might be single-handedly ensuring the Wii becomes the most used console in my house, with the announcement that RE: Zero and the simply stunning remake of the original Resident Evil for Gamecube getting a repackaging for the Wii - with motion controls as they did for Resident Evil 4! That could see me locked into the RE experience on the Wii in one way or another for the next year! The games are being packaged together (as House Of The Dead II and III were for their Wii-welease) as Resident Evil: Archives.

Guess Who's Back?

Biff! Bang! Pow! The world's naughtiest rapper, that most skilful of lyricists and twister of verse, Eminem is soon to release his new album (see the countdown on the side bar!) . Here's the superb "We made you", containing the most wonderful rhyming couplet
"Wowsers! I just made
a mess in my trousers!"

It brings a tear to the eye doesn't it? See how many 'celebrities' you can spot!

Resident Evil Degeneration

Anything with a 'Resident Evil' prefix on it is guaranteed to find me reaching into my pocket. When I saw clips of the CGI movie 'Degeneration' on the Internet, I couldn't wait to see it. Avoiding cinemas and shipping straight to DVD, the film cost me about £15. Unsurprisingly, this is a fan-only movie. Despite the CGI being immaculate, the film never feels just like a movie*, it feels like a massive RE cut-scene all the way through.



Now that actually is not a bad thing for me. I love finding out more and more about the machinations of Umbrella, I love the cut scenes that tie together the plot lines of all Resident Evil games. I'm also constantly impressed at how good CGI films can look, and this film impresses on every level visually. Seeing two Resident Evil stalwarts as Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy getting the full movie length story line treatment is always going to go down well with obsessives like me.



But therein lies a problem. The story is just not that enthralling. It's standard Resident Evil fayre. Zombies, viruses, corrupt government, explosions, tragic family ties and a 'boss battle' with a big monster, that keeps metamorphosing into something scarier every time you think it's dead.




Still, it comes in a pretty packet and I enjoyed it for what it was worth. Buy it if it's cheap, or rent it. Download it for your viewing pleasure if you wish, But it's definitely worth a watch if you are a big fan of the franchise, or want to know the minutiae of the Umbrella story so far... FK rating 7.5/10




*(It still had Mrs. K absolutely terrified...)

Kiss Psycho Circus - Videogame Torture

You'd have thought after the last harrowing few weeks of Fallout 3, that I'd have promised myself only positive videogame experiences for the rest of 2009. I am seemingly not that kind to myself. For the last few days (since finishing Resi 5 really) i've been playing/enduring a Dreamcast game called Kiss Psycho Circus: the Nightmare Child. And what a fucking nightmare it's been.



Ostensibly a first person shooter/mythical quest type thing, the game has very tenuous links to the band Kiss. You might find a jukebox or stereo which will play a kiss song. As the player, you go around collecting pieces of Kiss costumes... Ace Frehley's platform boots, Gene Simmon's shoulder pads or Peter Criss's cod-piece.



The game is just a tedious run through of a middle of the road, dated, FPS. Some of the game's monsters are pretty well designed, some of the landscapes boldly coloured in psychedelic hues, which make it alright to look at, graphically a kind of cross between Half Life and the more trippy boss levels in NiGHTS.



But the game gives you nothing for your dogged completion of levels. If you die you get put back a long way, meaning the replaying of elements of the game over, and over, and over again. The story is literally one of the most convoluted pieces of bullshit ever, one that I can't be bothered to relate. The cutscenes are minimal, there's nothing to unlock or collect and the boss battles are never really going to inspire. After literally hours of playing through seventeen, long, long levels, the game just fizzled out with one of the most boring and simple boss fights ever. Nothing memorable at all.



I was hoping for a Dreamcast revelation, a repeat of the joy I found when I played 'SOTB: Gut's Rage' last year. but the only joy I had from completing this game is knowing that I beat it and I'll never have to play it again!

Royksopp - "Happy Up Here"- Space Invaders Ahoy!

Hi Folks!
Right I've got two weeks off work! Hooray! I've actually got a lot to tell you, so expect a glut of posts before the usual drought. Just to tide you over whilst your waiting I'll hit you with this videogame inspired video from Scandinavian ravers, Royksopp. The video is superb, but the tune is even better. Sounding like a piece of syrup-laden synth pop at first, there is something very dark and twisted underneath. I love it! There's actually a version of the track out by a Russian brass band which is equally good, but that's another story...