Greetings lost traveller! I'm not quite sure how you managed to stumble on the Church Of Blessed Indecision, but since you're here, you may as well pull up a chair and check out my inane ramblings on life, videogames, music and anything else that occupies my mind for a few fleeting seconds before 'the voices' start talking to me again...
Following the petulant tone of my last post, I've decided that firm action was required on my part... This involved the trading in of both GTA IV and Fallout 3 (plus a few other pre-owned titles) at Blockbuster last night, meaning neither 'open-world' game can be dipped into again!
I then had to decide what I would pick up with my credit note... I was torn between two zombie blasting titles. (I often seem to revert to zombie blasting when I'm at a crossroads in my gaming life. Should I go for House Of The Dead Overkill on my much maligned Wii, or Left 4 Dead on my trusty Xbox?
I'd been bitterly disappointed by the last HOTD game I'd purchased, namely HOTD 2&3 Return for the Wii. It felt like a shoddy and cheap port, with no extras apart from some annoying bugs...
I'd got HOTDII for the Dreamcast, with a fully functional lightgun and HOTDIII for the PC. The Wii version brought nothing new to the table. Plus buying HOTD Overkill, almost necessitated me buying the new 'Magnum' Wii-mote housing/peripheral thang, meaning the whole package would have set me back nearly £50...
Left 4 Dead, my middle son 'reliably' informed me, was THE game to own this year. He'd been itching to get it since finishing Dead Space, and assured me and his two brothers, that if we bought a couple of Xbox controllers (setting me back £50), we could all play it as a 4 player co-op.
That swung it for me. I imagined us all sat round as a lovely family unit, blissfully zapping zombies whilst smiling and winking approvingly at one another. That bubble was soon burst as we got it home and realised that four player co-op meant two players in the house and two on-line... DOH! That was a wasted purchase of two controllers then... Ho-fucking-hum! Still, the game is very satisfying if wasting fast paced zombies en-masse is your 'cup of tea'. I've enjoyed what I've seen so far, even though I've opted to play it in single player mode with the other three team members as CPU AI.
The graphics are reminiscent of the PS2, but it's well paced, camp as Christmas and has it's tongue firmly planted in it's cheek. The characters are cliche'd horror film fayre and so far ammunition and health boosts are abundant enough to stop the game from becoming a chore.
That is not to say that this is my 'new game', however, at the moment, I'm trying to decide between finishing God Of War I on the PS2 (which requires me sitiing in my son's bedroom to play...) Playing Shenmue or Headhunter on the Dreamcast (which means I'll suffer the derision of my sons for going over old ground...) or jumping straight into Gears Of War 2. Any advice my dear brothers?
After nearly 100 hours of gameplay, the discovery of nearly a hundred locations as diverse as Megaton, Tenpenny Towers, The Republic Of Dave and Lamplight Caverns, such notable characters as Gob, Mayor McReady, Daring Dashwood and DJ Threedog, after bartering, trading, stealing and sneaking, creating weapons from vacuum cleaners and surgical tubing, slaughtering raiders, slavers, traders, deathclaws, rad-roaches, super-mutants, capitalists, federalists, anarchists and bomb-worshippers, not to mention the endless wandering, wandering, wandering and wandering...
...I am now officially sick to bloody death of Fallout 3! I have made the huge mistake of wandering into perhaps the biggest open-world game developed for a console, using no guide or walkthrough, playing "by ear" (as it were) and meandering through the most ridiculous route any gamer could ever take.
I've unintentionally avoided main missions whilst fulfilling nearly every bastard-side-fucking-cock-mission there is to engage in. Enough is enough! I've resorted to online maps, guides and walkthroughs. Eventually, I've been led to Vault 112 and the rather splendid Tranquility Lane simulation. I've met my pops and it looks like I'm on the path to conclusion and closure...
NEVER AGAIN!!! From now on it's strictly linear gaming, possibly using a walkthrough EVERY TIME. I might even only play 'on rails' games from now on... What is certain is that I'm going to choose my next game very carefully. Might go back a generation or two to the safety of the Dreamcast, PS2 or Saturn... Might stick to the PSP for a bit... But I will never, ever play anything as big as Fallout ever again. Life's too fucking short!
With a big bag of drugs and a month to see how I get on before going back to work. So hopefully that will mean I can play and blog a bit. Let's all celebrate with this lovely video! Woot!
Well just a quick one to say thanks for all your good wishes and kind thoughts. Just to clear up the mystery, I've no idea what's wrong with me, neither do the docs! my heartbeat is 118 BPM, whereas the norm is between 50-100. I'm short of breath and I've got fluid on the lungs! Jeez! having said that, I don't feel too bad! And the docs don't think it's anything fatal at the moment (thanks Funnyman!)
Still, I've got to stay in next week, but I've had a day at home today. It's been great and I've been pampered by the family. Part of this pampering includes a brand new PSP Light to help me pass the time. I've completed God Of War and I've got Need For Speed Carbon, Gun, Tekken Dark Resurrection, Virtua Tennis World Tour, Tocca Race Driver, Micro Machines, Powerstone Collection, Fifa 09, GTA Liberty City Stories, plus Akira, House Of Flying Daggers and Kung Fu Hustle on video! Not bad eh?So I'm still alive and kicking at the moment, and hoping to be home some time next week with a conclusive diagnosis! Then I can get back to blogging and enjoying the good life! Still, my days of living an unhealthy lifestyle are firmly behind me, that is definite. There's nothing like spending ten days on a hospital ward with three guys with 248 years between them, one in the advance stages of pancreatic cancer, two who are incontinent, one blind and all three flatulent in the extreme! That's an eye-opener believe me! Stay well brothers!
Hi this is joe FK's son. He wants you all to know that hes in hospital so hes sorry if hes been quiet and not replying to any emails. He's unable to get to a computer and is unlikely to be out until next week. Please spread this around the blogsphere. He sends a big big love to all! cheers everyone Joe x
Well, well, well... No sooner have I finished looking back on the games of 2008, when I've got to consider the games I will be playing over the coming year. I've decided that this post will come in a few parts, considering the variety of consoles available to me, this seems the only sensible way to go... Otherwise it gets a little confusing.
So let's start with the most accessible: The 360. I say 'accessible' because it's right there in the little living room, the room where we hang out the most. The TV is the biggest downstairs (not huge, about 28 ", but it has the Xbox and the Dreamcast permanently hooked up to it, so there's no messing about with cables.
The Wii now resides in Little Ted's room and the PS3 moves about from room to room. In the big living room, we have the PS2 and recently, the Saturn permanently hooked up. Nice set up huh?
OK, so first things first... There's no point me starting anything new till I've tidied a couple of things up.
Unfinished Business #1: GTA IV I'm 50% of the way through the game. However, I can see this as being something I chip away at 5% at a time between other games. I really think I have to be careful in the future. I'm not the sort of guy who can just gun his way through a game. One because the demands of work and family necessitate that I don't put in long sessions of play, hours at a time. I'm not an intuitive gamer. Missions, routes, pathways etc. that might seem obvious to others can pass me by unnoticed. That can result in me spending ages just floundering around. Missions that some people might knock off on a first attempt, I might only achieve on a third or fourth attempt... The time adds up and it's time I don't have... So Niko, will have to be content to come out and play on my schedule...
Unfinished Business #2: Fallout 3: I'm in love with this game and the world in which you play. everything about this game is perfect to me. The atmosphere, the interaction with AI characters, the retro-future styling, the gun play with the VATS system, the apocalyptic vision of post-nuclear war ravaged Washington, the various tribes and factions, the fauna and flora, the nostalgic soundtrack and in game radio broadcasts... Sheesh! It's everything I had hoped for and more... I've played it without guides or walkthroughs, discovering new characters, quests, areas and landscapes, letting the game unfold before me. It's picking up speed now and my progress is much quicker than it was in the first few days of play. So I'm completing this before anything else is even considered. I've got my DS, Dreamcast and Saturn for short bursts of distraction if needed, but there will be nothing put into the 360 before I've completed Fallout... (Oh and do enjoy the video review at the top of the post...)
Hopefully, no matter how badly I play, I'll have managed to complete it before March 13th 2009, the day the highly arousing Resident Evil 5 comes out. This will be pre-ordered and picked up on the day of release. I'm not expecting to breeze through it by any means, so it could take up most of March. I'm quite tempted to play it co-op with someone much better than me, so I can complete it quickly, see the cut scenes and story revelations and then maybe come back and play it single player at my leisure...
Gears Of War 2: I enjoyed Gears well enough, but I'm not mad to get into GOW2. it's been sat in my house for nearly a month and I haven't even bothered to try it for five minutes, but I will get round to it.
ProEvo 2009: For the last couple of months I've watched my two eldest sons play match after match with often hilarious competitiveness. I've got to get in on the action. I love soccer games on the Saturn and Dreamcast, but both Pro and Fifa have eluded me in terms of appeal since PS2 times... Having said that I played about three seasons of Fifa 07 on my DS whilst I was off, winning every major title and taking my beloved Manchester City to the top of the Premiership. So yeah, football is gonna feature in 2009.
Bioshock 2: Another one which will be pre-ordered and picked up on the day of release. Unlike the second part of Gears Of War, I'm gagging to see what happens in the next installment of this particular story. It's taken all of my will power to not take a backward step and re-play the original...
Call Of Duty: World At War: I liked COD4 in mission mode, and that is the way I intend to play this title. In straightforward liner fashion till it's completed, then I'll leave it alone.
I'll stop there, because that lot could conceivably take me up to the Autumn period. No doubt I'll deviate from this list or there will be something I've not considered that catches my eye. But realistically, if I also play my other consoles in the way I intend, that's quite enough to be going on with...
A couple of music videos for you here. The one at the top is by the band Pendulum, a shared love of both myself Joe and my oldest son Joe. 'Swinging' (geddit?) between rock, indie and thumping drum 'n' bass, they're a breath of fresh air within the UK music scene, appealing to a broad spectrum of music lovers. The first video strikes a blow for those of us in the "portly/rotund" section of society, although contrary to internet rumour, it's not me in the video...
The second video, is a Pendulum remix of an old Prodigy classic, Voodoo people. I love the Prodigy's punky outlook on the rave scene. It was fresh and original, dark and brooding as the quite disturbing video shows. I've seen them twice, and believe me, when they kick off, everyone in the house is rocking! expect more from both bands during 2009, though I'll resist the urge to throw up a load of videos which people ignore.
I just checked the date of my last post and it was literally a week ago. Having been absent for so long, it may have looked like I'd retreated into my non-posting mode again... Not so! The fact of the matter is that I've devoted the week to The Saturn Junkyard, which I had severely neglected over the last year.
So, there will be more posts here at FKWS over the coming weeks, as I reckon it's time to put some life back into this old place.
Now I know that some of you guys know there has been the arrival of a PS3 here at Krishna Towers, and a couple of you have asked me for my impressions. Well the truth is, I've only played it properly for about twenty minutes this morning. when we got the Xbox "for the kids" last year, I was all over it. I've probably had more use out of it than they have. So this year, I've let them have free reign over it. There's three of them that need to share it, so I figured the last thing they would need was a fourth party competing for game time.
My middle son was kind enough to buy me Condemned 2 for the system, but I've not even played a second of it. So what did I play to give me my first taste of "proper gaming" on the PS3? It was Call Of Duty: World At War - Nazi Zombie Level.
I played co-op with my littlest son and I have to say it was a blast. The basic premise is that you are stuck in a small building with barricaded windows. Hordes of Zombie Nazis are coming and it is your job to fend them off, with a variety of graded weapons. These might be as simple as a knife or pistol, or as devastating as a grenade or alien gun whatever the hell that is...
You can also repair your boarded up windows, if the zombie throng have damaged them,. The aim of the game is to last as long as you can whilst swathe upon swathe of the undead advance.
The levels inclusion in what has been seen as a serious war game, which treats the subject respectfully has been one for which publishers Treyarch have been slated. There was already a hostile reception amongst COD4 fans before the game came out, that Treyarch should develop the next COD game. They took a big gamble taking on the project and it seemed that in the face of anticipated failure, they pulled the sequel off just fine... Except for this one unlockable.
Hell it even prevented the game being given a 10/10 score from Games TM magazine, who settled for a 9/10 due to the inclusion of this side quest.
personally, I don't see what all the fuss is about! If you think it is a crass add on to a serious game, then don't play it! Stick to mission mode and online battles and ignore it completely. I thought my brief time on it was a lot of fun and I could see myself playing it over and over in a bid to beat previous efforts, By all accounts the online battle mode is not nearly as much fun as those on COD4. My sons have enjoyed the Nazi Zombie levels far more than online play, choosing to play it with their friends in the house, rather than trying to blast some unknown COD obsessive, screaming abuse through the head set from across the Internet.
I will eventually play the mission mode and will eventually use the PS3 more and more as it becomes less of a novelty to the kids. But for now, shooting fascist walking dead has been an excellent introduction to the system!
The decision to hand development of the much loved Fallout PC game to the good folks at Bethesda as a 3D console port for it's 3rd outing, caused much consternation amongst the PC massive, (Gnome included!) Fears seem to have been allayed somewhat however, as the game has been acclaimed with both critical and commercial success.
Expect a video review soon, before I cast my own verdict on the game, which is likely to be heralded with tears and other body fluids... Until then, here's a quick visual run down showing the graphical evolution of the game from the good folks at IGN. BTW, the music which forms a constant backdrop to the gameplay, is by the Inkspots, and I absolutely love it! Like Bioshock, there is a fabulous retro-future atmosphere that adds tremendously to the overall feel of the game... Enjoy!
Now in seventeen years of teaching and child care, I've witnessed some seriously fucked up parenting. Whilst I agree that children need to be taught some life lessons about family income and that the expectations of consumer excess are skewed at this festive season, this is just cruel.
Sure little Johnson might need new winter clothes, and he might have failed to hear his mom telling him that she couldn't afford a 360 on the ten thousand ocasions he asked... BUT!!!
Hearing the raucous hilarity of his family as they witness his Christmas dreams dying, videoing the event, asking him to "cry to the camera" and then posting his misery on Youtube for the world to see... Word's fail me. Damn!
Hopefully young Johnson will grow up and devise a "cunning plan" to make his dear mother think she has won the lottery, and wait for her to phone up her siblings, cousins and bosses, telling them that she hates and disowns them all, before revealing to her that it was just a 'hilarious prank' like the one she played on him all those Christmases ago...
I can't promise to be as specific as the previous posts, but 2008 goes something like this:
Xbox 360:
Bioshock: My first 360 experience. Brilliant in a every aspect. Shenmue 2: My second 360 experience. I bought the Xbox game without actually owning an Xbox. I bought it for the Shenmue 1 DVD. Couldn't resist making it my 2nd game on the 360. Call Of Duty 4: Great on mission mode, but I don't see the attraction of endless online matches (unlike my middle son who puts in an hour before school each day...) Gears Of War: Enjoyable but not earth shattering... That's not meant to be as dismissive as it sounds. Condemned: I liked it! (Played during my dislocated shoulder convalescence) Viking: Battle For Asgar... played a good chunk, but never completed. (I felt bad about letting Nebacha down on that one...) Enjoyable!
Max Payne 1 & 2: Definitely two of the greatest games of all time. Dead Rising: Dabbled, but didn't get very far, then I bloody lost it! How do you lose a game in the relatively small confines of a house???? Not the first time this has happened either! Sega Rally Revo! (360) Could this game please get some more love??? Still want to play friends online on this one, but hate the vertical split screen) Virtua Fighter 5!!! Awesome online, but I get my arse kicked! (Playing Nuno and speaking to him - and his mum- was a gaming highlight of the year...) Soul Calibur 4! Awesome online and I kick arse! Blacksite: Area 51. (360) Critically panned (specifically by Funnyman) but I enjoyed it! GTA IV (half way through...) This is the game that totally opened my eyes to the potential of the franchise...
Nintendo Wii:
No More Heroes (Wii) A great game, but I got stuck on the last but one boss. Disappointed I never finished as it was one of the only Wii games I've enjoyed this year. Umbrella Chronicles (Wii) If I could defeat those damned Twin Ivans, this would have been my game of the year! (however, as I couldn't complete the game, it remains something of a bitter-sweet experience) Ghost Squad (Wii) Great, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected... House Of The Dead II & III Return - Wii (a lazy port... I've ony put it into the Wii once)
PS2:
Resident Evil Dead Aim PS2: Loved it! Devil May Cry 2 PS2: Loved it! Yakuza PS2: Simply stunning. Perhaps the greatest revelation of the year! Matrix Path Of Neo: Second playthrough... Totally satisfying!
Gamecube:
Resident Evil: (Gamecube) Simply stunning, with graphics that I've yet to see betterered on any next gen console. Unfortunately, I lost my GC memory card and thus, never completed! DOH!
PC:
Sega Rally (PC) There's something great about playing a Saturn game on the PC and I can sneak in a bit of Saturn gaming at work too. HOTD III (PC) Very nearly completed it...
Dreamcast:
In terms of the old Dreamcast, this was the year I centralized the collection, with the intention of actually playing games I'd bought but not tried, However, the only games that received any real attention were Half Life (which I tired of half way through) SOTB: Gut's Rage which I played during Dreamcast June and completed and loved and Jet Set Radio which I played as much as I could and loved, but on which I got stuck around the Russian level. I'll definitely return to it at some point... Tee Off Golf was a great distraction. 2008's only Dreamcast release, Wind And Water Puzzles, proved to be nicely packaged and lovingly produced, but was never going to set the world on fire!
At the moment I'm loving Fallout 3, my Resident Evil 5 Demo and Burnout on the DS. I'm sure there's more but I'm running out of steam... I'll post separately about my retro downloads on the 360 and Wii. I'll post separately about my handheld gaming on GGOTG. I've also got a bunch of games spread across the consoles mentioned above and the glory of the PS3 to investigate during 2009, which look's like it could be a good one for gaming.
Wow! Has it been over a month since I last posted here? I shamefully know it has been. After my recent shoulder dislocation, I kind of slumped. Not only have I neglected my posting duties, but I've kind of dropped out of the blogosphere in an Elderly type of way.
I haven't posted, and even more shamefully than that, I've neglected to even check out or comment on my fellow blogger's blogs. If I'm honest, I kind of slumped after my injury, having two months off work and slipping into a routine of staying up all night, drinking loads , sleeping all day and vegetating in front of the TV.
Sure, I've played a bit, including Fifa 2007, Call Of Duty 4 and Ninja Gaiden on the DS, Condemned and GTA IV on the 360, God Of War on the PS2, but mostly it's been endless rounds of Maury Povitch, Jerry Springer, Everybody Loves Raymond and King Of Queens on the TV.
So what has kicked my sorry arse into gear? What has inspired me to update this sorry blog? Well peeps, it's all down to one man. One saviour of Portugese proportions. Not only has he discovered a new contributor to both the Dreamcast Junkyard and the Saturn Junkyard, but he has bestowed the most incredible Christmas present on the Krishna household that has arrived in years....
Having waited with baited breath for about three years for the release of Resident Evil 5, checking out every internet snippet, every 360 teaser and video demo, what should pop through my letterbox this afternoon???
Only a fucking playable demo of said game from my hallowed Portugese brother!!! I don't want to blow him up good and proper, 'cos the lovely package I received is in no doubt a tad illegal, but if you are a regular reader of this terribly un-updated missive, you'll know who has furnished me with this terribly exciting CD.
Let's take a snapshot of the moment... December 22, 2008. The postman drops a package through the letter-box. My biggest son, Joe tells me to wake up. (I was snoozing on the sofa at the time, as I have been so many times since mid October...)
I open the envelope and within is a anonymous looking disc with a hand written letter (nice touch Nuno BTW...) I pop it into the Xbox obeying the hand written instructions... Go to the My Games section of the Xbox dashboard and WTF????!!!!! ... I see the RE5 logo and some Japanese gobbleydegook.
Five minutes later, and I'm playing RE5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fucking hell!!! I'd be a liar if I said that little FK wasn't standing proud at that moment... It was a truly beautiful gaming experience. Me and my three boys were glued to the TV, all edging closer to wrestle the controls from each other.
There was a tangible feeling of excitement as we all competed to play the Shanty Town level as Chris Redfield. If I'm honest, I was the crappest, getting eaten by the infected horde much quicker than my two eldest offspring, but I was having some sort of out of body experience at the time!!!
I'm having some sort of posting epiphony at the moment and could go on and on spilling my guts to you all, but it would be wiser to wrap thi up right now... Suffice to say that Nuno has rescued me from a personal slump of major proportions, and his generosity has pulled a brother back from the brink...
So apart from registering my major gratitude to the man, I'd just like to say that my 2009 resolution will to be a return to the international brotherhood that has meant so much to me since I started blogging!
No posting from me for a while folks, I just got back from the casualty department at the local hospital. I fell from the top of the stairs in my house, right to the bottom, dislocating my right shoulder (for the seventh time). I'm one finger typing this and it's a ball ache. So I'll be out of action for a while, in terms of posting and commenting. I'll still be reading your blogs though, so know that I'm with you in spirit!
I may have been a tad ambiguous in the past on FKWS, about my feelings for this band. I think my last post that had any reference to Oasis was slagging off band main man Noel , for making inane comments on video games and violence.
To my American audience, this band maybe an unknown quantity. To my UK readers, love 'em or hate 'em , they are perhaps the biggest musical phenomenon to come out of the UK for years...
Opinion on the band is quite divided. Personally I think they are the most excellent UK musical output since the Beatles or The Sex Pistols. Interestingly enough, the band (or more significantly lead singer, Liam) suffuse those two influences quite succinctly.
I'm inches away from knowing these guys... "Inches away..." you say Father K? "Well do you know 'em or don't you?"
Weee....ellll... no... But one of my best friends, Neil, grew up with them in Manchester. He's in one of their videos! This has lead to me having a personal message and autograph from lead singer Noel, and almost getting to know them!
Neil has offered me the chance to meet them TWICE! but I've not been able to... for various SHITE reasons... You have to put into your mind, that the band or artist you would most like to meet in your life were willing to meet you, then imagine that a close friend could make that a possibility for you, but then for whatever reason... *please insert your own shit excuse* you couldn't....
DOH!
I'm still hoping that one day me and the guys will hang or chill... until then I'll just hit you with you with their latest single... Which I think is fucking great!
This is a trailer for a new TV show coming onto E4 this Autumn. It looks excellent! Centred around the UK reality show "Big Brother", it depicts the contestants and hosts going all zombie-fied on live TV. Can't wait!!
Imagine my horror as I finally registered my Xbox with Microsoft only to be given the news that my warranty ended in May 2008 (I only bought it in Dec 2007. Imgine my delight when the lady at the end of the Microsoft tech support helpline said that the lovely Bill Gates had personally extended my warranty and that they would fix my Xbox.
Shortly after the call, golden seraphim flew through my letterbox, wrapped my 360 up in angel hair, sprinkled it with pixie dust and transported it through the ether to anothe dimension.
Actually, they said they would send me some shipping labels, arrange for a courier to pick it up and I would have it back in about a month. Hurrah!!
Then Angelina Jolie turned up at my door saying she had tired of Brad, and wanted to start a new life with me. She said she felt she didn't have enough children, and that we should start making some RIGHT THERE AND THEN! She roughly pushed me to the floor and then slowly peeled off her Lara Croft cat-suit. Then she started to make passionate lo...
OK, I'm just gtting my Xbox fixed, but you get the picture. I'm really happy...
Here's a snapshot of my life. I've been out for a curry on a Saturday night. I'm sat in my living room with my lifelong friend Eli who is visiting me for the weekend from Liverpool (we're going to see Stephen Stills, veteran of Woodstock, play a gig on Monday). My middle son, Martin (14), has been to see "Mirrors" at the cinema. For the first time ever, (and he's been watching horror films since he was a nipper) he's genuinely shitting himself. He was disturbed by the images he saw in the film. So, me and Eli are giving him loads, taking every opportunity to exploit his fear, having a right laugh at his expense. It ended with me singing the MJ classic, 'Man In The Mirror' and sniggering.
Marty walks into the living room, cool as a cucumber, wafting his hand behind his arse. A micro-second later, we realise he's farted. And then it kicked in... The most unholy stench... Eggy... in the extreme... Moments later, me and Eli are gagging, bawking, coughing and wretching... More moments later I'm puking... Into my mouth... I stagger to the back yard and spray puke onto the floor, just in time to see Eli has staggered to the back yard before me. This one fart has reduced two grown men into shivering, puking, wretches at the back of my house.
At the end of this couple of minutes, Marty walks back into the room, with a wry and triumphant smile on his face. So pleased was he with his one-up-man-ship that he began to call his friends to tell them of his powers.
So there you have it... Now for just one moment, close your eyes and savour your life. It's far greater than mine!
I first heard about this game in a Playstation magazine about three years ago. In the article, the game was declared the 'spiritual successor to Shenmue', which was enough to get me interested, indeed, enough to get me salivating. I bought it close to it's UK release, played it for a little and then rapidly lost interest in the game.
The reason? Despite the Japanese setting, the ability to explore the local environment, interact with a myriad of characters, kick ass in a variety of set battles and gang fights and perform mundane chores like shopping... It fell short of the Shenmue experience. Despite the fact that the PS2 had more lifespan for development and was by all accounts a better piece of hardware, Yakuza didn't look as good as Shenmue. The plot line was not as engaging, the game world not as convincing. In short it just wasn't Shenmue.
At the time, I was in mourning for Shenmue. I'd played the first and second installment of the game at least twice and could not believe the experience was over... with no conclusion to the story, leaving me gagging for more. Yakuza was made by Sega, but there was no way the company were ever going to spend as much on the game's budget as they did for Shenmue, (which was partly responsible for the downfall of the Dreamcast due to lack of sales of the software, to bring a return on their development investment.)
But Yakuza is a very different game to Shenmue... the journalist who first made the comparison cursed my enjoyment of it as a title in it's own right. It set the bar too high... As time has elapsed, my need for Shenmue has diminished (although the Xbox version of Shenmue II was the second game I ever played on my 360 in 2008 - despite having access to Call Of Duty 4, Sega Rally Revo and Pro Evo 6). That means I am now able to play Yakuza on it's own merits, without comparison to Shenmue and as such, I'm enjoying the experience greatly.
The story is very much like films such as Infernal Affairs, one of loyalty, betrayal and intrigue. The murky world of the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) and it's 'families' is faithfully represented. The language is "colourful" to say the least - peppered as it is with 'shit, fuck, mother fucker' , etc. the brawls are frequent, with weapons being drawn from a variety of objects littered around the place.
Kazuma, the game's hero and protagonist is a very likeable and one whose identity you quickly become comfortable as playing. You even get to see a schmaltzy and sensitive side when he looks after the orphaned Haruka, and even goes out to find dog food for an abandoned puppy.
The game developers did splash out a little for the title, however, on voice acting - by the inclusion of both Mark Hamill and Michael Masden adding vocal content as characters mob lieutenant 'Goro Majima' and gang boss 'Futo Shimano' respectively. I'm about four hours into the game and I'm enjoying it immensely.
Enjoy the Gamespot video review, and again, if you have a few quid, bucks or euros spare, pick it up! They're onto the third installment in Japan, and Yakuza II has just been released on the UK market, so the franchise is very much alive... and at this point showing how viable the PS2 stll is as a piece of hardware in the current gen. Check it out and be sure to check out the links so lovingly installed in this post!
I've decided to delete my last apalling post on this quite lovely game, because a.) It looked shite and b.) I feel to an extent it may have put my four or five loyal readers off from giving it a proper look in (with the exception of dear Nebacha.)
I completed the game in about four hours using the standard PS2 controller and I would definitely like to revisit it using the G Con light gun. the game was refreshingly short, making it a nice "light snack" between other games. It also satisfied my desire to dip further into the world of Umbrella after playing the most excellent RE4 (Wii edition) last weekend. It's really whetted my appetite for RE5 which finally seems almost close enough to touch.
Apparently out on "Friday 13th" (of what?) sometime in 2009, the game looks more jaw droppingly amazing with every fresh teaser released.
But back to Dead Aim... I was totally intrigued to find a reference to Umbrella "planting a seed in Africa" during the game. Could it be that this is where the first reference to the plotline of RE5 originated? If so it would surely elevate the status of RE Dead Aim form an under-rated spin off of the franchise to something far more significant?
Any way instead of hitting you with big ungamely chunks of Wikipedia, I'm going to present you with a very comprehensive review of the game by Jeremy Dunham of IGN. Please read it and comment if you would. Heck, if you have a PS2 lying around and a couple of quid to spare, go and buy it and play it. I'd definitely reccomend it as an amusing distraction and a fun way to kill a couple of hours (and a couple of hundred zombies ...) If you are like me and are desparate to know every twist and turn in the ongoing saga of the Umbrella Corporation , this title could be essential playing...
"US, June 17, 2003 - The difference in quality between the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis franchises in comparison to the spin-off Gun Survivor games is pretty amazing. While the former are among the best adventure titles of the last twenty years, the Survivor series hasn't been nearly as distinguished. In fact, the unpopular offshoot is generally acknowledged to be the laughing stock of the survival horror world. Not exactly an adventure, not quite a light gun shooter, the amalgamation of these two genres has never been the elite combination that Capcom was hoping for.Despite the series resolute critical panning, however, the franchise has somehow been kept alive for the lifespan of two consoles. But after 2002's botched third attempt known as Dino Stalker, most of us had figured that it would be the final chapter in a trilogy of failed experiments. Apparently we were quite mistaken. As in the span of less than a year Resident Evil: Dead Aim finds itself chiming in as the fourth attempt at a producing a quality genre blend. And while it still possesses a lot of the same mechanical problems that its predecessors had, we're pleased to announce that the series has finally taken a step forward. Hard as it may be to believe: some of it is actually "fun".StoryBorrowing a page from the forgotten Game Boy installment, Resident Evil Gaiden, Dead Aim moves the familiar Raccoon City plotline to that of a cruise liner. Owned by the Umbrella Corporation and headed for destination unknown, the ship has become infected with offshoots of the G and T-viruses while amidst the high seas.
Beginning with a confrontation between government agent Bruce McGovern and a mysterious Umbrella operative known as Morpheus, the tale seems to bring us in about halfway. On the brink of being eliminated by Morpheus, Bruce is saved rather suddenly by the interjection of another government agent and Chinese badass Fongling. Once the trio go their separate ways, the next chapter in the Resident Evil series is officially underway.
Once the game begins, the back-story is fleshed out through the discovery of journals, clippings, and other staples of Resident Evil lore and continues along at a quickened pace via the occasional cut scene. If you're a die-hard fan of the series, there isn't a lot to be discovered here in terms of adding to the franchise's mythology, and the characters themselves are a little cut and dry. Regrettably, the game's most interesting character, Fongling, is barely explored at all; and other than a few moments that allow her to show how much attitude she has, she's pretty underexposed. Of course, there are a few revelations that tie up a couple of loose ends from previous installments, but nothing truly earth shattering.
(...or is there????!!! -FK-)
GameplayIf you're unfamiliar with the Gun Survivor games, the description provided in the introduction pretty much sums it up. Combining the primary shooting elements of light gun shooters such as Time Crisis and Ninja Assault with the adventure components of its Resident Evil source material, the series is a unique mix of otherwise opposite genres. If done right the idea is actually pretty clever, and is a legitimate attempt at improving on a sub-category of game that hasn't seen innovation since "the pedal". How long do developers expect us to stay on simplistic, rail-based pathways anyway?
Happily, Dead Aim takes the adventure aspect of the Survivor series further than any other game before it. And to its credit does an outstanding job of capturing the familiar Resident Evil-style progression. With the exclusion of pre-determined camera angles and the usual blind spots, however, the sudden frights that are associated with the traditional games aren't quite as plentiful. As we previously mentioned, though, the typical Resident Evil goodies and items are at your disposal the moment the game begins: Key cards, green herbs, first aid spray, and all that other stuff we've come to love populate the inventory screen in an identical manner to the adventure games.
Weapons too play a similar role in Dead Aim; with handguns, silenced weapons, grenade launchers, shotguns, automatic rifles, and other familiar equipment available for annihilation. Limited to only a few ammo slots in the inventory menu, ammo has to be conserved in order to have enough of it left for the end. Unlike most light-gun shooters, however, running away and choosing to fight your battles at another turns out to be the best tactic, and one that will actually prove fruitful in the more difficult game settings. This factor alone could prove to be a big turning point for light gun fans: Do they want action, or do they want atmosphere? Dead Aim provides more of the latter.Once the decision has been made, gamers will have to control their character. To maneuver them around (yes, you can control both Bruce and Fongling at different intervals), players are able to select from a myriad of different combinations that best suit their tastes.
Using a GunCon, Dual Shock, or USB Mouse, gamers will have literally every possible control option available. Though we have to admit that the best way to go is to utilize a GunCon/Dual Shock combo. With that mix, a user can implement the analog stick for movement and the gun for shooting monsters when the situation calls for it. It'll take a little getting used to at first, but it's the most rewarding way to go.Unfortunately the movement of your character is hampered by a grid-based control system that makes it close to impossible to make high-speed rotations. While this doesn't mean that players move on a point-by-point basis (ala tactics-based RPGs), it does mean that performing a full circle without stopping is nigh impossible (think Tomb Raider or better yet, Nightmare Creatures). The developers have included an "escape' button for situations that would normally call for a quick turn around, but unless you press the hell out of the shoulder button, it rarely works. Worsening the situation even further is the fact that character movement in general is rather sluggish. And when facing higher-speed monsters in the latter half of the game (like Glimmers, Hunters, the Final Boss, and so on), survival becomes less a matter of skill and more a test of patience.
Dead Aim's pacing doesn't help much either; with some moments that can see your character unscathed for six sometimes seven rooms in a row, there's a sudden feeling of rushed action when you enter a room with ten zombies after doing practically nothing for five minutes.
We figured that this sporadic placement was meant to help build tension between conflicts, but given the large nature of the traveled cruise ship and the equally big disposal facility, it doesn't exactly make for an exciting game. That is unless, you decide to play on the hardest setting at which time the game becomes a frigging nightmare. The undead is everywhere, and unless you've grown a tolerance for Dead Aim's wonky movement, is almost unplayable. Our recommendation is to stay with the normal setting -- it's still unbalanced, but it isn't as frustrating or disturbingly easy as the hard and easy options. But even then, the experience as a whole will only last you under two hours.
Graphics - It wouldn't be a stretch of the truth to say that Dead Aim has some mighty impressive textures. From the humans to the creatures, each character is mapped with a bevy of high quality imagery that easily eclipses the tattered mess that was Dino Stalker. Similarly, the polygonal models (be it f man or thing) are pretty convincing, and when paired with the subtle animations included for each character, produce some kick ass results. Breathing, slight head movements, and even line-of-sight eye contact with targets add that little something extra.Also worth mentioning are the excellent lighting effects. From Bruce's shoulder lamp to the red-streaked eyes of the Glimmer creatures, Capcom's attention to illumination and darkness is an important ingredient for establishing the game's distinctive horror-themed mood. Of particular note are the shadowed hallways in the latter part of the cruise ship; it's here that the more potent zombie creatures literally come out of nowhere and attack you. Don't forget to check your shorts the first time you find the path to the "clean room".Sadly, the visual positives fall victim to an unhealthy amount of slowdown when the screen is overpopulated with models --especially when playing on the busier harder difficulty setting. Another annoying little tidbit is the occasional pop-up and clipping that infest the closed-quarters sections of the game. Take one look at the three zombies inside the gas chamber when picking up the charged particle rifle for a prime example: they pop in and out of the walls like it wasn't even there. Ho hum.
Sound - Resident Evil titles have almost always been the shining example of how to properly mix an ambient soundtrack and Dead Aim isn't any different. Using subtle pipe and horn instruments in a slow, monotonous fashion, the game's musical score is appropriately creepy and foreboding in all the right sections. Occasionally during boss battles or sudden changes of situation, the composition ramps up into an action movie-like fervor -- with more than a couple of tunes that reminded us of another Capcom tale of the dark, Devil May Cry.
As a unit, it all comes together very nicely and goes to prove even further that the team's musical division definitely knows what its doing.Of course, the usual sound bank of audio effects that we've come to recognize as part of the Biohazard mythos has returned as well, and there's an untold number of groans, grunts, growls, and other such noises that fans will always appreciate. Unfortunately the character voices aren't as strong, and for some reason or another, sound as if they were recorded in a gigantic hollow tube. Nearly every spoken word echoes and reverberates the moment it leaves the television and in some of the more extreme cases, can't be understood without several chances to hear it again.Another bizarre tidbit worth mentioning is that the subtitles don't match what the actors are saying. Although the translation is similar to what the characters are referring to at the time, the written text is almost completely different. We can understand a difference when translating another language sure -- but why need two separate translations of the same material if there's only going to be one language option? Truly bizarre, indeed.
Closing CommentsIn the end, Resident Evil: Dead Aim did something we didn't expect -- it made us want to play it until we beat it (a feat that previous Gun Survivor versions made us cringe over). And though our experience with game wasn't as consistent at some of the other titles in the genre, its efforts at being different, its high production values, and legitimately entertaining mini-moments deserve a little recognition in what has otherwise been a history of negativity. But who knows? Perhaps the series is on the edge of greatness? Perhaps Dead Aim is the catalyst that will propel the next version of Survivor into the upper echelon of shooter-loving bliss? Maybe this will be the one that helps launch a bigger, better, and more enjoyable version sometime in the near future? And maybe, just perhaps will give Capcom the opportunity to tell all of its naysayers "We told you so!" Then again, perhaps maybe not. "
Yet another classic portrait from my favourite artist, Mr. Deitrix... What a total trip it is for the recipients of these classic portraits, I can't even begin to describe. An honour and a privelige I'll say that! We praise your might dear Deitrix!!!
Bloody shit fuck cock arse and bollocks. My Xbox is dead. The 'red ring of death' appeared on Saturday when I was in Wales. I'm a third of the way through GTA IV and now I can't play it.
I'm pretty philosophical about it though... my first thought was that I could fill it's space with the PS2... I want to play Kingdom Hearts again and maybe give Yakuza a proper play... Then I could always just re-play Enter The Matrix or give Okami another blast.
I might go and check out what's available for the PS2 as a bargain at the local game shop. Or play through Resident Evil Dead Aim... Yes that's the ticket!
The Dreamcast and Saturn have also been neglected... I've just got Death Crimson 2 from Japan (I only just found out though that it's actually just a more buggy and incomprehensible version of Death Crimson OX, which I already have for the Dreamcast, and dang it if my light gun doesn't work properly on it!!!
I'm expecting The Ring from Japan and alsoKidou Senshi Gundam: Giren no Yabou so the Dreamcast may get some action yet... If nothing else, I've just scored Metal Gear Solid for the PS1 and a MGS specific Bleem disc, so I can play it with improved graphics on my Dreamcast. So yeah the possibilities of a bit of 'retro' gaming is quite a good one.
I've also just got House Of The Dead for the Wii, although on the slight amount of time I have played it, I'm not massively impressed...
I've shamelessly nicked this from Junlee, simply because I love it so much, I wanted it on my blog. You'll see me raving about it for the next few months. I only hope it's as good as it looks... This has got me thinking about the retro-future world of Bioshock... I love the combination of cheesey American info-mercials, the fifties music and the post appocalyptic wasteland... Genius!
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