IN THE FUTURE THERE IS ONLY

WAR

Does a virtual experience ever manage to capture the essence of a real physical experience?  There certainly have been a multitude of computer and video game recreations of classic board games over the years.  Some have been quite faithful transitions, whilst for others, the reimagining can be quite a diversion from the origin.

Games like Monopoly and Chess have, for the most part, been relative simple electronic versions of their classic board games.  Sure, there may have been little touches added to the experience, such as animated pieces, but the end result is that you no longer have to find somewhere to store that large box and all those little parts, and the solo player can now compete against AI opponents.

A genre that has tried repeatedly to make the change from epic scale planning, tactics, and bragging rights to the electronic counterpart is the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Some 20 years ago, or more, I was introduced to the board game Hero Quest, and spent many an hour playing it.  I was then excited to purchase the space-based follow up, Space Crusade.  This was to be my first experiences of the Warhammer 40K brand, and it was in fact, the 2^nd board game version featuring the Space Marines.  Space Hulk had been released the year before.  Both had similar gameplay;  Space Hulk was a 2-player game where the Space Marines  take on the Genestealers.  The Genestealers bore a little resemblance to the titular Alien from Ridley Scott’s film, and that was the driving force for me picking up the box after noticing the artwork.

Space Crusade allowed up to 4 players, with 3 different 5-man Space Marine squads, with the remaining player controlling the aliens, which were a mix of Chaos Marines, Genestealers and Orks.

Both Space Hulk and Space Crusade had quite accurate computer game recreations.  I still have my copy of Space Crusade on PC cd-rom, though it was released in 1992, so it struggles to run on modern day PC software without a decent MS-DOS emulator.  The computer game was praised at the time for being faithful to the board game origins.  It also allowed the player the option to play in a top-down aerial view, or a 3d isometric screen.

Space Hulk was considered a much faster paced game, with the Genestealers rushing quickly in overwhelming numbers compared to the slow, cumbersome, heavily armoured Space Marines.

That was the limit of my involvement with the genre in the 90s, though I knew many of my friends would regularly buy White Dwarf magazine, and discuss the latest miniatures they had bought to take home and paint.  It seemed a little nerdy to me, but I would never say anything about their hobby.  I respected it.

Fast forward to 2003, and I was involved in the beta testing for Sony’s PlayStation 2 online games.  One of the first games I received to bug test (and later the full game) was Warhammer 40,000 : Fire Warrior.  This game was released in conjunction to the launch of the Tau race in the 40,000K universe and hosted some big names on the voice talents.  Sadly, not even Brian Blessed’s booming voice, nor ex-Doctor Who Tom Baker were enough to make this game a hit, as there were many poor aspects in the game.  The game was a first person shooter and not really a great one either.

My next experience of Warhammer 40K would be the rather good Dawn Of War series.  This was yet another attempt to recreate the atmosphere of the table top gaming by moving it to a real-time strategy environment.  Released at a time where Command & Conquer had lost its magic, and Starcraft was getting old, I invested a good portion of my spare time trying to complete the storyline.  I failed.  I now have the Dawn Of War Anthology box (which includes the 2 expansion packs) on my pile of shame, right here by the pc.  The series must have done well, as it warranted those 2 expansions as well as getting its own direct sequel.

The latest experience I have invested in is the latest third person shooter, simply titled “Space Marine”.  This game pits you as a Space Marine commander up against hundreds of Orks, and later, Chaos Marines.  Giving you access to jet packs and heavy weapons, you are really treated to the experience of dealing bloody death to the enemies of the Imperium of Man.

THQ have also released Kill Team.  This twin-stick shooter plays pretty much in the same style as Dead Nation, but suffers badly from a lack of online co-op, and whilst there is a local 2 player co-op if you opt for it, you will notice how the game lacks depth and length of levels.  The (unskippable) mission objectives explanation will usually feel like it takes longer to sit through than actually playing the level and completing said objectives.  Often overlooked, it doesn’t really deserve your attention.

The other game released in recent years is Squad Command on PSP and DS.  Another game that has received mixed reviews, but returns to the turn based style of the original games.  In today’s market of fast paced shooters, I can’t help but think this was overlooked by the mainstream gamer, because it appeals to more to the traditionalist rather than the passing interest.

Matt Harrier, one of the hosts of the DorkTunes podcast gave me some thoughts on the classic world, and its chequered past in computer and video games.

Part of the appeal of the miniatures is painting your own army, and then bringing it with you to an epic game session, or playing a section of an epic battle in a smaller scale combat.  You get an immense sense of pride seeing people admiring your army.

The fact that there are no gridlines or pre-defined layout means you can set your own scenarios, and the game map can be different every time. You can create any terrain features you want – whether it be a carefully modelled and painted hill, or a pile of books to represent one – and build your game around them.

The attempts to bring Warhammer 40,000 to the video game market have mostly taken it away from the essence of the core gameplay. Fire Warrior was pretty much just an excuse to make a game to try and entice video gamers to the table top gaming world, but it was let down by being a poor game.

Dawn of War allows you to control your squads and give them individual commands, but without it being turn based, your options and planning are more frantic and less thought out.

Looking back at the history of the crossovers, it is clear to me that the table top gaming of this nature is simply not the ideal platform to develop an accurate recreation of the classic experience.  The games will work being based in the universe, but the developer need to stop trying to entice fans of the table top to the video game, and should instead concentrate on making solid games in whatever genre they try to move in to.

You can check out the DorkTunes podcast right here on Gamerdork, or subscribe to them on iTunes.

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Pete and Matt return, this time with very special guest Austin Wintory, the composer for recent PSN exclusive “Journey.” In addition to talking to Austin, they play some tracks from the game, along with some other classic video game cuts.

Track/Game/Artist/Year
Shatter – Amethyst Caverns – Module – 2009
LA Noire – Main Theme – Andrew Hale – 2011
Bulletstorm – Theme – Michael Cielecki – 2011
Batman – Level 2 – (we don’t know this one) – 1989
Killer Instinct – The Instinct – Graeme Norgate & Robin Beanland – 1994
Angry Birds – Theme – Ari Pulkinnen (arr. Andrew Skeet, perf. London Philharmonic Orchestra) – 2009
Minecraft – Équinoxe – Daniel Rosenfeld – 2009
Rome Total War – Forever – Jeff van Dyck – 2004
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Streets of Whiterun – Jeremy Soule – 2011
Viva Pinata – Day 4 – Grant Kirkhope & Steve Burke – 2006
Mirror’s Edge – Still Alive – Lisa Miskovksy (arr. & perf. Jamie Maxwell) – 2008

© 2008-2012 GamerDork.net. All rights Reserved.
Hosts: Pete Boyle & Matt Ramsey
Producer: Matt Ramsey
Do you have feedback or questions? Email us at noob@gamerdork.net

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Oh hai! Long time no see. Hope you enjoy our new podcast.

© 2008-2012 GamerDork.net. All rights Reserved.
Hosts: Leah Haydu, Kevin Drysdale & Neil Brooks
Producer: Leah Haydu
Do you have feedback or questions? Email us at mailbag@gamerdork.net

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There comes a point in LA Noire where everything falls neatly into place. The criminal is squirming in the interview room, shifting uneasily as a barrage of proof is plastered in front of him, revealing their misdemeanours and guilt. At this point the player feels all powerful, the epitome of the hard nosed cop sticking it to the man and keeping the streets safe for its citizens. Common sentiments would then suggest there is everything else and for every euphoric collaring there is a bout of investigative indifference where confusion and bluster creates a sense of abstraction. As a byword for disappointment, LA Noire could arguably have the award sewn up and in the bag before anything else gets a look-in, but taking a step back reveals that while the game suffered from a complication of creative intent and grandiose desires, a fact that ultimately affected many areas of the title, the core is still a fascinating achievement.

The intent was to create a story that was as much about individual cases as it was about an over-arching narrative that encompassed everything that had gone before, alongside everything that was still to come. To create a world of bent cops and dirty deals mixed with the collapse of the main protagonist not just as an officer but as a husband and a father. In many ways one of the biggest ironies of the game was the reflection of the downfall of Cole, which in turn mirrored the downfall of the player’s investment in the title. Part of its trouble came as regards to the tools the storytellers had at their disposal: a mixture of cut-scenes, case solving and scripted dialogue sequences were all of the tools that the player had to understand the continuing world around him but by being so disparate and fractured, it failed to build up a cohesive narrative to provide a compulsive thread to latch onto. The other problem was the connection to Cole himself; a relationship that struggled to find the right way to develop and bind with the player due to the very small amounts of time the developers spent on developing the central character.

Arguably, the cases are where the most damage was seen to happen. Cole Phelps as a caricature is everything the stereotypical cop should be. Hard and abrasive, taking no notice of position or power in an effort to get to the truth. But the biggest problem is that during case investigation, the evidence, the dialogue and the steps to the truth become inherently personal to the player.

One person’s Phelps will be always be different to another’s. Where one can see a connection another cannot; where one would respond in a coaxing or supportive tone of voice another would be barking and threatening. By letting the player investigate, it promoted a belief they were Cole and at every point that the avatar on-screen failed to respond in the way the player expected, a disconnect began to grow. Cole Phelps is in truth a film character suffering from being in a game. There is little or no choice over the actions that can be carried out but by becoming an interactive experience there is a belief that what is being shown on screen is a reflection of the person with the joypad in hand, or that said person can apply their own personality onto events.

To take that further, the resolution of any case should never have felt like an inevitability, instead empowering the player into becoming an integral part of the story arc. If they do not feel that it is true, or in keeping with the expectations set up, the rest of the game suffers as the interest starts to disappear and the more the illusion dissipates. This breakdown leads to the player simply removing themselves from the action on-screen and looking at what is happening with no care as to any future consequences; the avatar in front of them turning into a tool of progression instead of something to become emotionally invested in.

The title’s very strict approach to convention also became an issue. The overall process of any case rarely deviated from: investigate, question and progress into either a set piece finale or a suspect being charged. Some questions provided responses that could be easily rebuffed with the evidence but most failed to pass across the right information to identify the clue until a questioning choice had been made by the player, leading to a greater sense of luck as opposed to skill. Not that this is the first game to have suffered from this. The Phoenix Wright series was equally as guilty, and suffered far less backlash from this feature, but was never as ambitious in its aims or wanted to convey as complex a story.

Examining this, the question has to be asked: is there any other way? Cases by their own nature demand a lot of time and effort looking for evidence and interrogating people. While it is true that at times evidence – that is not deemed correct by the game can be argued by the player – we have to remember that we are an avatar and, like it or not, limited to how that avatar perceives the information in front of him. While in real life evidence can be twisted in its digital form it can be nothing other than absolute. By granting a freedom to investigate the trade-off is that there has to be an acceptance that not every connection that could be made can be made, and a further acknowledgment that sometimes what we can’t see is a solution that the evidence does actually point to. Like real investigations the most obvious evidence is sometimes the hardest to see. Other times there is tenuousness and stretching of believability, what the game will see as legitimate evidence the player could never imagine being used in our own court system.

This is the central crux of the failure of this title to endear support much after launch. With a lack of the immersion and logic system that players struggled to grasp, it led to the other negative aspects being reinforced tenfold. What is forgotten is when the right cases do come along they can provide moments of suspense, intrigue and satisfaction. Some of the early vice cases are real standouts: the initial investigation into a morphine distribution racquet between dealers, suppliers and distributors which leads to packs of ice with the drug frozen inside hits nearly every note perfectly, threading big plot revelations with exciting action scenes. The act of investigating and putting together the correct story from both the clues and dialogue is still a supremely satisfying moment when it arrives, re-enforced when the perpetrator is collared and damned with the evidence present. Gaming has always struggled to reward intelligence more than the visceral thrill of combat and this manages to do that, and do it far more regularly than many more titles similar to it.

The attention to detail throughout the world is truly outstanding. The city itself is a set that may be devoid of content but high on setting, providing a recognizable backdrop to the acts of violence on show. Some may complain that providing an open world without any content is a waste but it never seems that way. It is there to provide a stage to the action, a flavour and immersion into a city and a reminder of a world outside of each murder scene or overdose. It never forces the player to live in it but likewise allows those that want to dive in every opportunity to explore the recreation. Despite the criminal horrors on show the city still moves on, the cars still travel and it’s residents carry out their daily lives.

To fault the team’s ambition would also be churlish; this is a game that did everything it could to allow the player to actually play. No case could be failed, game-over conditions were rare (unless Cole was knocked out or shot) and like any case in real life failure to catch a criminal does not mean that the next case does not come around. While player performance was measured it was never blocked and at times the chewing out by your superior was almost worth performing badly for.

The overall reach and complexity of the story is both praiseworthy but flawed. Throughout the game the amount of layering and foreshadowing of story moments and revelations suggests more than is actually delivered. The black dahlia murders begin promisingly; the threads that tie each of them together cleverly designed and executed in a fantastic finale. The concentration on an encompassing plot for the final half of the title is also a tremendous tale that suffers from two distinct issues that ultimately make the last set piece feel flat; the quick and unexpected failure of Cole as a man and the overall pacing that created a lot of resolutions and surprises in a short amount of time.

Cole is perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of this. The meta-story is strong enough in itself to survive without castigating the main character as a cheat and coward, unable to keep himself away from the local nightclub singer. The game never truly provides any indication that this is going to happen bar a few lines during travel moments within cases and the occasional cut-scene. That relationship fails to show any true growth, instead running from 0 – 100 within a short space of time and leaving the player as betrayed as Cole’s family.

Depressingly, it is these mis-steps that remain in the mind; the over-egging and over ambition which should never be held back but also tempered with an understanding of what can be achieved. LA Noire is almost quintessentially Rockstar. A high concept created with memorable characters that you never play while being saddled with one that no one wants to be by the end of the game. The overall idea of the title may not be original but it has never been attempted on this scale; a fact that ends up being a problem that it struggles to really get to grips with. The legacy that will be left is one of technological innovations paired with incredibly basic mechanics; the old and new coming together in a way that is as infuriating as it is compelling. It’s not perfect – not by any stretch – but it sets another bar and creates a new landmark on the road of progress. For that at least it deserves an immense amount of credit, and appreciation, from the community.

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The boys are back with another episode, this time bringing you 11 tracks ranging from 1989 up to 2011. Some pumping, some laid back, but all utterly brilliant. Comments and requests to matt@gamerdork.net, noob@gamerdork.net or @evilnoob and @Mattharrier on Twitter

We apologise for the slightly rubbish quality in places, the technical monkeys are hard at work trying to sort this out for episode 9!

Game/Track/Artist/Year
Shatter – Amethyst Caverns – Module – 2009
LA Noire – Main Theme – Andrew Hale – 2011
Bulletstorm – Theme – Michael Cielecki – 2011
Batman – Level 2 – (we don’t know this one) – 1989
Killer Instinct – The Instinct – Graeme Norgate & Robin Beanland – 1994
Angry Birds – Theme – Ari Pulkinnen (arr. Andrew Skeet, perf. London Philharmonic Orchestra) – 2009
Minecraft – Équinoxe – Daniel Rosenfeld – 2009
Rome Total War – Forever – Jeff van Dyck – 2004
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Streets of Whiterun – Jeremy Soule – 2011
Viva Pinata – Day 4 – Grant Kirkhope & Steve Burke – 2006
Mirror’s Edge – Still Alive – Lisa Miskovksy (arr. & perf. Jamie Maxwell) – 2008

© 2008-2012 GamerDork.net. All rights Reserved.
Hosts: Pete Boyle & Matt Ramsey
Producer: Matt Ramsey
Do you have feedback or questions? Email us at noob@gamerdork.net

Visit us at GamerDork!

If the PSP was one thing, it was a very attractive piece of technology. Maybe not a massively successful software platform in the west but in terms of what ended up in gamers hands there could be few complaints (bar that horrendous analogue nub).  So its recently released successor, the Vita, has one aspect to emulate and another to improve upon. The first is to retain that badge of perceived quality, the overall sheen and shine of a product that wants whoever is using it to know the equipment is a class above. The second is to become a viable platform that sells software instead of a piracy magnet where the least profitable part is the only one that sells any recognized volume in all markets.

Of those two only the first can be commented on right now. The initial impression is of overt familiarity. The form factor is slightly larger but a shade thinner, a design that fits as nicely now as it did in the first iteration. This is complimented by a surprisingly light weight adding to the very impressive way it seems to fit just right into both hands. The unit as a whole is very comfortable to hold, the rounded edges and indented sections in the back providing a natural pathway for the fingers to grip to.

The rear touch panel proves to be slightly trickier to judge, primarily due to the titles this reviewer has available making light use of the functionality. Due to its width reaching the centre of it can be difficult, even more so trying to identify where the fingers are without any on screen indications. Not all titles will suffer from this of course, and as developers get more comfortable with the technology better indicators will become present. The front is much more successful, providing the same degree of functionality seen on most Apple devices alongside the same amount of intuition during use.

Which provides a great excuse to discuss the fantastic screen that has been created for the Vita. The screen epitomises everything that the handheld stands for; Big, bold and to the highest possible quality. The clarity it achieves is outstanding, its size almost jumping out at the user and everything appears sharper and clearer than any other handheld device currently available (possibly bar Apples retina display). It truly is wonderful to play any software on. Aurally the sound output is fantastic through the built in speakers and even better when using good quality headphones.

The composition of the buttons and sticks is for the most part smart and comfortable. The analogue sticks are true sticks and not a disc based system utilised by the 3DS. Both are responsive and just the right size to be comfortable to move with the precision required, soon becoming second nature under the fingers. The amount of travel in both is perfectly pitched and bar the possibility for finger cramps after prolonged use they are a massive improvement over Sonys first attempt. The sticks are placed just under the D-Pad and face buttons on the left and right respectively and are level with each other.

From a useability perspective the unit is incredibly impressive, from the touchscreen to the physical inputs on the front of the console everything has been cleverly designed to provide a real sense of quality that is actually backed up when the device is used. What is less successful is the OS implemented.

After the near universal adoption of the XMB interface throughout Sonys hardware the Vita has moved to using bubbles to signify both the applications and games that have existed on the machine both past and present. The issue is that the bubbles are big and cannot exist in any form of folder structure, new bubbles are added at the bottom and have to be dragged upwards to get to the first screen that is seen during start-up. Any new game started will have the bubble automatically added to the bottom of this pile, causing a chore to have to scroll, access, drag and then access.

Added to that the system never truly closes a running program unless it is swiped closed. Returning to the home screen does not stop what was being used running in the background, instead the user has to swipe to the side and then confirm the closure.  While not a huge problem in itself it can be confusing and cause a larger battery drain due to the confusion over what is, and what is not, running.

The actual applications installed are mostly standard fare. Web browsing, music, video and trophy browsing are all present and correct. A social package called near is the Vita Streetpass alternative but proves to be confusing and unwieldy to understand, so much so that currently it seems to be stating a lot of facts that are hard to believe.

As a whole package it is supremely well put together, despite the introduction of a new OS that at times prioritises interesting concepts over clarity. Like the original PSP the unit is a supremely well put together piece of technology that justifies Sonys attempts to position it as the premier handheld device on the market. Whether it will succeed is a different question, the competition has diversified far more than the launch of the first iteration and brought in new ways to both access and play software on the move. But right now, with its breadth of first party software that could be developed for the system, the Vita is a compulsive device that is well worth trying.

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Cassandra from The Most Popular Girls on the Internet and Neil from GamerDork are combining forces to bring you one big, awesome sauce Gaming Event.

Free admission!

This event is absolutely FREE! Just register here and show up on the day!

Video Games!

Play console games on two giant projection screens.We’ll be bringing out the RockBand for sure, but feel free to bring along any co-op games you want to play with your friends.

Table Top Games!

We’ll have ample room for as many table top games as you want to bring. Whether it’s an all day D&D session or a half hour game of Go Fish, you’ll find the room to play – and the people to play with you.

LAN Gaming!

Bring your own rig to hook up in our LAN area.  Get into some old skool LAN action on Starcraft – or whatever games you want to pwn in.

Live Podcast!

Cassandra and Neil will be recording a live show on Saturday night with plenty of special guests!

Raffle!

With your registration, you’ll get one raffle ticket with the option to purchase more*. Cassandra is bringing a box of goodies from America (Twinkies!!), and we’ll have some other gaming related swag to give away!

*Raffle ticket income will go to cover the costs of the event. In other words – back into Cassandra and Neil’s pockets. No purchase necessary!

Location: University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

DorkapaTWOza is being held at the Barony Bar in the University of Strathclyde’s Student Union. Strathclyde is in the heart of Glasgow, close to hotels and dining. We’ll have a private bar, two large projection screens, and ample room for gaming and socializing. The student union also has public areas where we can play pool, darts, and other games.

Can’t wait to see you there!

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Noob and Matt present some more gaming classics, this time re-imagined by Jamie Maxwell (Unlikely Melody on Twitter). They also have a chat with Jamie, and get his views on video game music.

(Game – Track Name – Artist)
Turrican 2 – Traps – Chris Hulsbeck
Toe Jam & Earl – Main Theme – John Baker
Street Fighter – Ken’s Theme
Sonic The Hedgehog – Starlight Theme – Masato Nakamura
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Main Theme – Koji Kondo
Metal Gear Solid – Main Theme – TAPPY
Sonic the Hedgehog – Scrap Brain Zone – Masato Nakamura
Sword of Vermillion – Village A Theme – Hiroshi Mayachi
The Last Ninja – Main Theme – Ben Daglish
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – Ice Cap Theme – Brad Buxer
Tetris – Korobeiniki – arr. Hirokazu Tanaka

© 2008-2012 GamerDork.net. All rights Reserved.
Hosts: Pete Boyle & Matt Ramsey
Producer: Matt Ramsey
Do you have feedback or questions? Email us at noob@gamerdork.net

Visit us at GamerDork!

What is it about games that makes them take hold of our lives?  Is it the story?  Is it the action?  Is it the simplicity?  Is it the challenge?

It’s pretty safe to say that at some point in my life I have invested many many hours into at least one game due to each of those reasons, but rarely do you find a game so perfect that it imprints itself into your memory for life.

But why do we let ourselves romanticise certain games?  If we look back at older games from 15 – 20 years ago, they generally look awful compared to modern day titles.  They are usually shorter, and simpler, with only a few buttons to master.  Nostalgia has a big part to play in this.

Many of you reading this will be aware of a spiky blue hedgehog who collects rings.  You will also be aware that he was Sega’s bitch, and was used to diversify into all sorts of side-projects, with mixed success.  But it is with great fondness that we have memories of the first Sonic the Hedgehog games.  I had a Mega Drive (That’s the Genesis to any US readers), and I had Sonic, and Sonic 2.  With the fast pace, they very much had a pick-up-and-play feel to them.  True, to complete them, you would need to sit down, on average, for a couple of hours.  But that wasn’t really the point of why we played it.  We played it for the simplicity of jumping on things and running from left to right, finding new ways to avoid death.  The early Sonic games were some of my favourites of all time.

So when I bought a Sega Saturn, I bought Sonic Jam (which included Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles).  Then, when I moved to PS2, I bought Sonic Mega Collection, which not only included those same titles, but a few others from the Sonic library.

Then came the PSP.  I picked up the Mega Drive Collection.  Yes, it may have had Golden Axe on it, and Ristar, but let’s face it, I was always getting it because it had Sonic on it.  The same went for the Mega Drive Classics for the PS3.

But then Sega games started being released on PlayStation Plus for download, including Sonic 1 and 2.  So bearing in mind that I already have two copies of these games on current generation hardware, I went ahead and downloaded them as well.

What I can’t work out is why I keep getting hold of copies of this twenty-year-old game.  It’s not as if there has been nothing better since then.  There have been hundreds of games that I have enjoyed much, much more, but games such as the Final Fantasy series are adventures.  They tend not to have too much replay factor.  When they are done, you get a sense of achievement, but you don’t feel like starting over again a week or so later, because they require a big investment.  At its core, Sonic is an arcade game.  It’s not a particularly long or challenging game, but its simplicity makes it endearing, and the music is iconic.  The Mega Drive didn’t have the greatest sound qualities, but that ring pickup noise and the Green Hill Zone music will stay with me forever, affecting me as much as the Metal Gear Solid music and the too-often-heard “Snaaaaaaaaaaake!”.

It would be a good idea to point out that Sonic is not the only game of the last twenty years for which nostalgia has stood the test of time.  The original Nintendo GameBoy cartridge Tetris is possibly one of the most treasured memories I have.  The game could hardly be simpler, and would certainly challenge you the longer you played, but playing game Type B and watching the characters dance and play music before seeing the shuttle launch gave me satisfaction like I had never achieved in those days.  And that’s not to mention the three music tracks on offer. Track A was the most often used, and become so popular a single was released by Doctor Spin (actually Andrew Lloyd Webber!) which reached number six in the UK charts.  Personally, I usually chose Track C which I felt was much calmer and helped me keep my cool.

I may have dabbled with a couple of online flash versions of Tetris, but nothing ever felt the same as the original GameBoy version.  I now have the HD version on the PS3, which is very bizarre in five-player multiplay, but it is the closest I have come to getting that old feeling back.  The Sonic versions, however, have always felt the same, regardless of the controller I was using.

I know many people who have bought many versions of the same game, notably Plants Vs Zombies, Angry Birds, and even Super Mario Bros.  I can see why.  These are all games that are not graphically intense.  This means they can be enjoyed on a multitude of platforms, which don’t have to be top-end hardware, and have the option of being ported with relative freedom.  They also have a pick-up-and-play feel to them.  No more than four buttons to use.  Nothing tricky to memorise.  Simple.

I think it shows that some memories are with us for life, and we always go back to them for the enjoyment they bring, but the hardcore games of today have limited longevity.  Whilst they may have an impact on our lives, we don’t take the game with us into the future.  Simpler games with simpler mechanics don’t seem to suffer too much with age, and just need a slight polish to recapture their original genius.

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The bump of a newly received parcel to gamers is like the sound of the end-of-school bell for children: a promise of excitement to come. The thrill of the new can rarely be dulled, and the expectation keeps building until the disc is finally in the tray. The game starts, the player leans forward in anticipation, and then it happens… it asks for a code to be punched in to grant access to online play, bonus content or some other extra that is sitting on the disc. And that’s if you’re lucky. Many titles now require a code to be submitted and content downloaded before the game is even started if any pre-order bonuses are to be available when the adventure starts.

With an increasing reliance on a digital distribution methodology for gaming bonuses on a console and software distribution platform that is still reliant on physical stores, are we facing a future where players are going to be locked out of content due to either a lack of internet connectivity or a download cap that means they have exceeded their limit before they get to the good stuff?

First, some stats: XBox Live activity figures released by Microsoft at the 2012 CES reveal a sell through of consoles in the region of 66 million units with 40 million Live users between the Gold and Silver levels. PlayStation Network has a reported 77 million users across a sell through that sits around 62 million units (albeit a large amount of those are duplicated accounts). Taken as an overview, and assuming that some of these accounts reside on the same machine (certainly for PS3 users there are no limits to the amount of accounts that can be added and it is not unusual to find one for each major territory), let us say that two-thirds of the user base for each console is currently online. That leaves one-third with no type of connection at all. It does have to be stated at this point that there is no indication that those that are connected are regular users who have access to a constant connection as opposed to one-time connections.

Of course, the above statistics would have been little more than an impressive set of numbers during the previous generation, but the last few years have started to make an online connection a requirement for content instead of an added bonus. From what initially started out as a delivery format for further packs and experiences to a released game, it has started to become increasingly seen as a gateway to content that is already a part of the disc.

This began as pre-order bonuses that turned out to be nothing more than unlock codes to items already on the disc — the coded gatekeeper standing in front and blocking those that have no way to acquire the key. For the most part, these remained insignificant trinkets frivolously added around the edges of the main game. Extra weapons, character skins, and items slowly morphed into avatar outfits, props, and game soundtracks in an effort to get players to splash that little bit more cash.

But alongside the mundane arrived pieces of content that were genuinely interesting parts of the game locked away in the guise of a bonus. The original Dragon Age removed a whole companion and quest line for those that could not download the content, fighting games locked away characters, and LA Noire individual cases. Slowly, those that lacked an internet connection at home were being reminded more and more what fantastic things they could not do.

The next invention was the introduction of the online pass that simply blocked off the multiplayer component of the title if not redeemed, a system that at least never punished those that lacked the necessary infrastructure to take advantage of this. But now things have changed, and the decision has been made to start locking single-player parts away from those unable to redeem a code online. Batman: Arkham City kicked this off by locking out all of the Catwoman sections, and the newly released Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning removes a whole quest line for those unfortunate enough to not be online.

Is this fair? At this point, consumers are now paying for content that they simply cannot play if they do not have the right access. Regardless of how large that content is or how much or little impact it has to the main story, the simple fact is that it is promising an experience that it is not delivering in its entirety. What is worse is that this process has become unfocused and increasingly diverse, not only between publishers but between developers within publishers.

Take Electronic Arts: the upcoming Syndicate has no online pass with multiplayer and single-player free for all, SSX has its multiplayer component available to everyone, but the rewards earned within it can only be accessed by those who have validated the pass provided and the aforementioned Amalur has parts of its single player content completely locked away. The situation has now reached a point where some content is increasingly being seen as a privilege as opposed to a right and the larger question of where gamers stand in regards to the content they have purchased begins to arise.

What is possibly most galling is how easily this would have been accepted if what has been placed behind a pay wall was offered as a pre-order bonus. In essence, the practice is the same, albeit instead if it being seen as “blocked” content it is presented as “adding” to the experience. In effect, what Amalur has done is no different than the quest lines that were locked off in the original Dragon Age.

The reasons for this (as specified by the developers and publishers) are the need for revenue and a way to combat the second-hand market’s land grab of current sales. This, however, leaves them with a conundrum. Make the content vital, and you risk alienating those that cannot access it, to the point that the question changes to why even bother with a retail release in the first place? Make it incidental, and it reduces the desire for those that have bought it secondhand to buy the required access in the first place. In this case, the reasons for the segregation become moot as the perceived revenue that is expected may never materialise. In either case, the real players that suffer are those that actually buy the titles upon release but never had the chance to receive the content.

Of course, the initial comeback is that for players that buy the title new, there is no extra cost, just the need to have the right access. This does raise the question of how necessary an internet connection is now becoming to being a current gamer; with so much now requiring some form of unlock, at which point does it become an item that needs to be on the back of the box as a required feature for single-player gaming? Are we at the stage where it is even realistic to expect the majority of the user base to be able to meet this?

The real danger is of a feature creep where further sections are seen as ripe to be locked off. Developers are right now attempting to find that middle ground where the game itself is not seen as damaged by this practice, but there will be a moment where that scale is tipped too far one way, too much will be locked away and the backlash will kick in. Yet there are few dissenting voices or outcry from the community. The overall sense is one of acceptance that this is the way things are. But why, and at what cost? Are those without access marginalized when they are teased, repeatedly, about what they cannot do by constant reminders on the game startup and during play to activate their online pass?

The community as a whole has been surprisingly ambivalent to this whole process, happy to accept an almost endless list of codes to unlock content from their new releases. The ironic thing is that those who have the biggest amount to lose in this whole process are those that struggle the most to have any kind of voice heard. By their very definition, those not online will always struggle to point out how badly they are being treated. There was an initial outcry; when it started, angry rumblings appeared on various forums, but this has become muted as the language peddled by the publishers became more refined. Initially, the online pass appeared to be pitched just right, but as time has gone on, a slow creep is making the future of this strategy an increasing danger. We have seen community power have an impact on online forms of DRM, so why is there not the same pressure over content?

Gaming is in great danger of segregating itself into those that can have a full game and those that cannot, of separating itself into two distinct camps with only one ever receiving all the benefits. With segregation comes disillusionment, and in the end, abandonment. Why would any gamer who could see themselves slowly being excluded from what they can play remain motivated to continue with this hobby?

Most people reading this will, undoubtedly, wonder why such a fuss is being created. Progress marches on, after all, but at the heart of the matter sits a realisation that this medium is moving ever quicker to a point where not being online is simply not an option. We are in a situation where the loss of that connection means a loss of a large amount of all our gaming libraries. The truth is, many do not even have the chance to amass that library or experience what the developer clearly wants them to due to lockouts created by these passes and bonuses. No one knows where this is going to end, and worse, no one really seems to care.

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Thanks to a well known Internet podcast, the only phrase that really mattered this past holiday season was one concerning developer Volition’s remaining big franchise: you really should play Saints Row the Third. While living in the shadow of Rockstar’s premier series, Saints Row has been carving itself a different path where the improbable and the impossible crash together with an explosive force, realising that its best bet for the games to be more successful, and arguably more fun, is to embrace a silliness that its compatriots are simply too scared to attempt.

Have no doubt, the third installment not only embraces this mantra, but runs with it into areas that will split opinions amongst the audience that plays it. The Saints are back in Stillwater, now living up a lifestyle of excess and debauchery as the most famous citizens in town. But fame attracts attention, both from rival gangs and from the city leaders, leading to more excuses to unload bullets and destroy everything in the player’s path in the name of honour, glory and a damn good time.

From this simple beginning craziness ensues, and the strongest aspects of the title start to show themselves within minutes of the first cut scene finishing. The player’s newly designed avatar, joined by the rest of the Saints crew, hold up the city bank, all dressed as the main man Johnny Gatt (complete with a giant head as part of the costume). What follows is a righteous roller coaster ride involving flying vaults, crazy skydiving, and blasting feet-first into the cockpit of a jumbo jet.

Funny thing is, by the end of the game that whole process will feel almost normal.

This then progresses into imagination given unlimited capacity to provide the player with scenarios that are regularly fun to initially experience. The toys are bigger and the carnage more addictively destructive than ever before, and the designers no longer shy away from providing the biggest and best toys up front, all in the name of providing a sandbox thrill on a scale that is simply staggering at multiple moments. At times, they display a wild invention that could only really be done in this universe, showcasing an ability to create scenarios that mix wanton destruction with the most ridiculous set pieces while always appearing utterly normal within the game context.

When this is done right, the results are electric, particularly when combined with the 80′s infused radio station, which can provide some unexpectedly inappropriately appropriate backing music. No matter how crazy, the script remains entertaining and continuously tongue-in-cheek throughout, in part realising the insanity around it but always happy to poke fun at itself at nearly every opportunity, leading to some genuinely funny moments of character discussion and one very unexpected cameo.

It is in the moment-to-moment gameplay where the title begins to slowly dip down. The fantastic scenarios provided mainly distill into the player running around with dual weapons drawn spouting bullets, creating a unsatisfying sensation of attrition over skill, and while the game has some cool toys, for the most part they are so ammo limited that it relies on the poorer standard gunplay to take up the slack for the majority of the main missions. The side distractions are mostly lifted from the previous games, with a few new additions or twists on existing type and lack any compulsive reason to play them, reducing the mechanic to a standard series of rinse and repeat steps that alternate between the too easy and the frustrating with no real excitement in-between.

It straddles a fine line between the brilliant and the bogged down where what the player is set up for at times fails to deliver more than a standard experience that has been seen in many titles before it, albeit with a very flashy costume. The explosions start to meld into a barely distracting ball of flames and twisted metal that becomes so regular it starts to stray into the realms of the underwhelming without managing to fully dive in.

It is also a game that is wantonly exploitative in regards to the female gender, painting most of the women with the game as underdressed characters simply there to provide a sexual thrill to the player. The designers would point to one of the main characters being a stronger female presence, a fact that is undermined in one mission where she ends up dressing as an overtly sexualised public figure to gain entry into an enemy building.

Ultimately where Saints Row 3 wobbles is in the shallowness of the gameplay mechanics that provide a broad but not necessarily deep experience to the player. It wears a big, loud flashy coat which on the surface is undeniably fu,n but can only be worn for a limited amount of time before the sensation begins to wear off and the grind factor of “go to location, shoot everything and leave” starts to wear thin. There is a meta-game that lies underneath; specific missions that relate to activities in the world supplement the main missions and specific activities can be triggered at certain locations but each follow paradigms set up in games released well before this. All it does is enforce this grind for a longer period of time should the player want to take it up.

Where it shines is in creating situations that are genuinely surprising and running through scenarios which are so out of the ordinary they feel fresh. The title presents a complete gamut of possibilities that no one can envisage and shows on a small number of opportunities a desire to try and mix up the formula without ever being able to truly commit itself to moving away from its base template.

For that reason alone, the mantra stated at the start of the review holds true; you really should play Saints Row the Third. In terms of mission possibilities, there is nothing else like it that came out last year, but its base mechanics belie a series that remains at the first installment and has never figured out a way to move forward.

The veneer of the pure insanity on the screen is welcome but covers a crossroads for the game and a decision for Volition. Do they continue to keep the same architecture and simply expand the masking to make everything bigger, badder and more extreme, or take a long hard look at what needs to be changed to break a cycle that ultimately wears down this game?

Reviewed on 360

7/10

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Are you tired of slaughtering hordes of undead?  Getting frustrated by super-intelligent robots sniping you from 100 yards?  Do you just want a break from high intensity gaming?

Even if you don’t, I would suggest you brush off that little dust-gathering piece of equipment known as the Wii, and load up the game Kirby’s Epic Yarn.

Kirby has always been one of the lesser known heroes in Nintendo’s IP catalogue.  Most remember him as the morphing pink Pokémon-esque character in the Super Smash Bros. franchise.  Some might even have watched his cartoon show on TV. But few Western folks admit to purchasing a Kirby game.

I have to admit, Kirby was my favourite SSB character. He could float for ages, and steal the main weapon of any opponent. I have also long forgotten how many hours I sunk into Kirby’s Pinball Land on the Game Boy (released in 1993).  If you play it today, it still holds up.  But despite my appreciation of the pink guy with no language skills to his name, I never picked up any of the Dream Land series, or any other for that matter, until I saw the interest in Kirby’s Epic Yarn.

The story begins with Kirby being hungry (as usual), and spotting a tomato to eat. This turns out to be magical, and ultimately leads to him being absorbed into a piece of cloth. Once there, he rescues a blue character, Prince Fluff, and discovers that the world he is in has been severed into pieces, and needs to be stitched back together.  The reluctant hero sets off on a journey to find the pieces of Epic Yarn which will attach the stages to the world hub, allowing him to progress onto the new pieces of fabric.  This might sound a bit too far fetched as a story plot goes, but you can easily see it re-worked to a Disney title with Mickey Mouse and friends finding pages of a storybook.

The first impression of the game is one of relaxation.  There is no time limit, no constant wave of incoming attack, no real sense of danger or urgency at all.  The colours are bright and the characters are clear.  There is a real sense that this could be ideal gaming for kids washing over me as I am shown to double tap right on the D-pad to turn into a car (complete with little car-horn beeping as I shape-shift) and I now have the ability to travel faster.  You also see that holding the jump button turns Kirby into a little parachute for a slow fall, and that pressing down on the D-pad turns him into a big weight to slam down on the enemies.  Everything is explained simply and graphically on screen.  Every time you find a new shape-shift ability, there is a little display in the background demonstrating what actions you can now perform.  So far I have discovered the following shapes : tank, mole, UFO, monster truck, fire truck, and submarine.

Venturing in a number of levels, I find that I have been transformed into a huge tank.  Suddenly this game got exciting!  Now I can blow stuff up!  This initial burst of excitement is short lived as I pass a line which robs me of my new tank and gives me back my regular Kirby.  I would like to point out that I am not disappointed that I don’t get to keep the tank, just that it gives a peaceful game a short burst of action.

With regards to action, I am actually trying to work out if this game is a bizarre twist on LittleBigPlanet and Sonic The Hedgehog.  Both those games feature characters who do not speak. If Sonic takes a hit, he loses rings, but does not die (assuming he is carrying rings). Sackboy is obviously a cloth character with a much slower approach to his levels, with each one being a story of exploration.  When Kirby is hit, he loses some beads that he has collected, but so far I have found myself incapable of dying.  Even taking a hit when I had no beads, I just bounced a bit.  This is why I get the sense of child-friendly gaming.  There is no real danger.  The levels seem to be about how close to perfection you can finish a level, rather than how fast.  Of course, this is the sense provided to you at the start of the game.  By the time I reach the fire lands, I have to race a volcano to stop it erupting, and death does occur.  To be honest, it’s actually a welcome change, and does make me respect it a little more.

There is a small amount of puzzle-solving to the levels, which may require you to unzip a ledge, causing a piece to fall away and reveal a platform behind or underneath, as well as the option to occasionally draw a string thread, like you would do with a curtain, to pull a far away ledge toward you, causing part of the level to bunch up.  It seems such a simple mechanic when you do it, but at the same time, feels clever.

Completing levels often grants a new cloth patch which is used on the hub map to gain access to locked stages.  There are also mini-games back in the main town, where you can decorate your apartment, or play hide and seek with other guests.

Two-player co-op is available, with the second character taking the role of Prince Fluff, complete with all the same abilities as Kirby.  Two-player does feel a little like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where if you die, you return to the screen floating until you find a safe spot to land.

If I am totally honest, the game has failed to sustain my attention for more than a few levels at a time, but for the levels I do play, I explore the hell out of them!  I find that I often come to this game to wind down after playing something else for a long period, as it is an ideal vehicle to calm your nerves, lower your pulse, and feel good about yourself.  I’ve said throughout this piece that it feels very child friendly, and I think a parent with a young child would have a blast on this with its cute graphics and welcoming atmosphere.  I am glad I bought it, and it will remain in the console for short bursts for several weeks yet.

8/10

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Before we get to my choice for game of the year, I thought I’d say a little bit about my gaming year first.

My year started out pretty normal; nothing much was happening for the first half.  I was doing my usual, working, looking after my daughter, and playing the occasional game.

Then, during the school summer holidays, my gaming life changed.

It started as a normal day, my daughter went to her friend’s house to spend the day playing there. Nothing unusual you may say, and it wasn’t. That is until I went to pick her up.

That’s when I met our lord and master here at GamerDork.

I introduced myself to Neil, a guy I was only on nodding terms with from the school gates when we picked up or respective terrors after a hard day of learning (them not us).

The ensuing conversation is where my gaming life changed.

Neil, it turned out, was just getting into board games and was looking for a like-minded geek to join him on this adventure. Yes, I was that geek.

Over the next few weeks we met up, played some games, and got to know each other.

Then out of the blue, Neil asked me to join him on a podcast he was doing at the time.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Recording the show was fun; I got to just spill my guts about the passion I have for games. Sadly, due to time constraints, new jobs, and a multitude of other things, the shows haven’t happened for some time, but, as they say, watch this space.

Okay, game of the year now, and its me, so it’s going to be a board game. So for my choice, it’s got to be Discworld: Ankh-Morpork.

I’m choosing this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was such a huge surprise. As I say in my review of the game, I’m a Terry Pratchett fan boy, so being into board games, it was a no brainer. I was always going to buy this, but I was surprised by how good it was.

Not only does it play well, it also looks great as you’re playing. The attention to detail is amazing, the look of the thing is perfect, and the game is just what I wanted and more. I’ve played it several times with family and friends, and everyone who has joined me on an adventure through the streets of Ankh-Morpork has enjoyed the journey.

If you would like more information about the game, go read my full review here:

http://gamerdork.net/category/caledonia-boarding

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On reflection it is hard to believe I was quite so worried. The end of 2010 felt as if it was leading into the next year with little to be that excited about. The tail end of 2011 was looking remarkably sparse and all that was known for certain were titles appearing just after the New Year had started. And yet somehow it has also become my most expensive on record, primarily based on some surprises and the lack of willpower to stop me buying an awful lot of special editions. The ironic thing is that I am now in the exact same position I found myself in twelve months ago. But let’s first go all Wayne’s World, shake those hands, and regress back twelve months.

The good thing is that these days the start of the year is just as exciting as the end of the last, with companies realising that the best way to pad out some good profits is to release some of the their biggest titles in the first three months, a practice that also manages to avoid the game being submerged in the gluttony of the Christmas retail rush.

Of course, instead of getting excited, I ignored most of this and kept plugging away at the bizarrely addictive Deadly Premonition, a game where no part looks even remotely modern, where the mechanics were so rigid they’d make Resident Evil 1 appear quite experimental, and where the plot was just frankly barmy. But it proved to be so intoxicating that it kept me gripped through the festive period and into the start of 2011 with the reward being an ending that, well, everyone should at least YouTube. Or, even better, watch the Giant Bomb endurance run.

Once completed, it was time for something new with arguably the first big hit of the year: Dead Space 2 — the bigger, badder, mostly the same, but with an exceedingly irritating un-killable (allegedly) necromorph appearing in the end section follow-up to that rarest of beasts, new IP. Still, it did have the most disturbing sequence of the year with the impromptu addition of DIY eye surgery, made even better by the lack of explanation, leading to a truly horrific death scene if done incorrectly. What it also did was indicate a trend that became stronger as the months rolled on: the biggest games in town were all sequels that would beat the life out of any new title that attempted to share the same shelf space, and most of these sequels would somehow feel just that little bit less special than their predecessors.

The following phase of the year was the great live arcade clean up. Limbo went from half-finished to confusingly complete, with Comic Jumper showing that 2D beat-em-ups can always be improved by a slightly sarcastic talking star. Interestingly, neither turned out to be quite as fun as I had initially remembered; the former looked great and at times played infuriatingly, with the latter showing that side-scrolling fighters really can be done badly if the mechanics are as rough as a badger.

But where disappointment had started to set in, pure joy suddenly arrived. Bizarre Creations’ Blur proved to be a fitting epitaph for a studio that closed its doors during 2011, creating a multi-layered arcade racer which always provided a pure thrill on the track. For a team who became synonymous with the racing genre, Blur is everything the studio should be remembered for.

The neon lights of inner city racing shifted into the swear-fest of Bulletstorm, a game where shooting became a dazzlingly balletic art of bullets, kicks and slow-motion whips. It was a stunningly self-aware title that traded accuracy for pizazz and the desire to let the player show off as it offered a range of skill shots that mixed the sublime with the ridiculous. No other game this year has allowed me to dispose of enemies in a way that has made me laugh so much and so often; I mean, you got to control a laser spouting dinosaur, for goodness sake! There is no point at which this stops being ridiculously cool, or stops being the kind of shooter that I have always wanted but never expected to get.

In-between this was the ultimately uncool Brutal Legend. An incredible concept interspersed with a confused execution led to a game with a world to die for but gameplay to forget. Thank god for the renewed direction into downloadable content for Double Fine, a move that brought in the fantastic Costume Quest. On the surface an RPG lite, it contained all the humour and pure joy of the developer’s previous outings without ending up so long that it became irritating. By all accounts, both Stacking and Trenched (sorry, Iron Brigade) are keeping up the fine tradition of Double Fine actually being loved again.

Portal 2 was by far my most anticipated game of the year; who could not look forward to another Valve game that promised to be touching, funny and incredibly addictive? What was most welcome was that it not only managed to do this but introduced a tremendous multiplayer component that was every bit as polished, clever and inventive as its single-player. No game can be flawless, and the regular loading screens broke some of the immersion the developers had so carefully tried to create, but this was as close as can be to being untouchable in terms of overall quality. Combined with one of the best game endings that brought together everything learnt during the game with a remarkably unexpected move that left most players gasping, the final result was simply extraordinary.

The mildly addicting Need for Speed SHIFT 2: Unleashed was next on the hit list. Normally I can stop myself going down the rabbit hole of trying to complete everything involved with the title, but in this instance my willpower completely deserted me. Due to this, my single-player game stands at 100% completion with everything humanely possible mastered: the courses, the championships, the challenges, everything. Quite frankly, I loved the thrill of driving these vehicles. No matter that they controlled like they were on ice at high speeds, at times the vehicle resembling a snake having an epilepsy attack going down the straight and that the design followed the same paradigms started by Gran Turismo, for some unknown reason it grabbed me, and grabbed me in a way little else did this year.

As the months rolled on the superbly fun Mortal Kombat came and went, expertly showing that a story can be interwoven into a fighting game in a way that’s ultimately not cack-handed. Gatling Gears prompted swearing and appreciation of top down destruction and toes were dipped into Child of Eden, Bastion, Dirt 3 and Fruit Ninja Kinect, to name but a few. Tellingly, little of them stuck with me, either through something else new and exciting arriving or already having something else in progress that I was determined to finish.

The biggest cause of missing the titles mentioned previously was the decision to start and finish Dragon Age: Origins. This is a title which is frankly downright ugly in places; the combat is simply spammy to the point of irritation, and any attempt to apply tactical management is hampered by the inability to view the battlefield as a whole (on the XBox version at least). However, the dialogue between the characters is fascinating. The continued bickering between Alastair and Morgan becomes a particular highlight that feels so rare in gaming as to become a standout in this instance, with the many of the quest structures showing an understanding of how to put the players in situations where it is never as simple as right and wrong. It is a title where the game mechanics feel underwhelming, but the storylines lead to real moments of hard thought as the consequences are weighed up. On multiple occasions, the final decision in the quest becomes more than a simple choice between good and bad, as the factions and interests have created a picture that is understandable from every party’s viewpoint. These are the moments where the title shines and the binary nature of picking a dialogue option has a greater grounding in the world as a whole due to the context provided by the developers.

From such weighty decisions a slice of frivolity was required, and Toy Soldiers: Cold War was the perfect tonic. Tower defense is slighted in my mind as a genre that is unforgiving and supremely irritating, but in this instance all the problems were ironed out into a buttery smooth gameplay experience. Include a controllable catchphrase-spouting rocket-spewing Rambo doll as special guest and there is nothing about this game that is not enjoyable. Hell, blowing anything up is fun.

This leads to the end of the year, and to my acknowledgement that I bought as much and never started as bought and fully completed. Deus Ex, Gears of War 3, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Alice: Madness Returns, Uncharted 3, Batman: Arkham City, Saints Row the Third and Crysis all added to another festive period which had initially appeared sparse yet bloomed into a price cutting bonanza by mid-November. And while this appears good for the consumer, it masks a problem that sits at the base of the UK gaming industry where the overall value proposition for the buyer has fallen so low that most titles hit £25 only a few weeks after launch, a factor that leads to lost revenue and a general deprivation on the idea of worth of the industry as a whole.

What was hard to get away from was the general feeling of being ever so slightly underwhelmed; in an ironic twist the general quality of the titles released at the tail end of the year is arguably the highest it has ever been. Nearly everything was a polished, well-rounded experience that could never be described as a poor title. Yet the overall sense was one of disappointment and being underwhelmed; Uncharted and Batman in particular suffered from fatigue — the former through an over-familiarity and poor mechanics and the latter due to an aggressive expansion in scope that ultimately diluted part of what made the original game so much fun. If 2011 was an episode of Sesame Street, it would have been presented by the number 3 and the word “shoot,” which meant it was left up to one of the biggest surprises of the year to show that crazy ideas can actually work.

Driver: San Francisco states a simple truth and asks the player to buy into it. The main character is in a coma, and as such, he can dream about the reality occurring around him and move between any vehicles at will simply through the power of the mind. So far so mad, yet it actually works, and manages to create a game that is a fantastic open-world driving title that encapsulates stunts, races and time trials in an incredibly enjoyable way. When shown last year, this was roundly seen as a crazy idea that could only go down, even from this blogger, yet the truth is this was one of the most entertaining titles released.

This leads me finally onto a more personal favourite that has received few words in most round ups but deserves credit nonetheless. Forza Motorsport 4 is arguably the best driving title currently out on the market, with a handling model that feels refined to within an inch of its life. It has been this blogger’s second biggest time-sink this year and worth every minute despite quickly disappearing from the consciousness of the gaming public, but for any serious gearhead out there, it is the title to own at the moment.

This marks the point where I make my decision for my game of the year. And it is Portal 2. There, that bit is now done and dusted.

2012 holds much of 2011 for this blogger; L.A Noire, Shadows of the Damned, inFamous 2 and Skyrim all remain un-started. And that’s not even considering what is in store in the coming 12 months. 2011 was a tremendous year for electronic entertainment, showcasing a level of quality and craft that belies this generation’s length, where developers have begun to truly understand how to get the best out of the on consoles currently on the market. Yet here I am only a week or so into the New Year and wondering what will be available at the end of 2012. Looking at the calendar, it feels very bare, but I can’t help but imagine that it will all change very very soon…

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Over the last few months, I haven’t had a lot of money to pick up most of the popular releases and even less time to play the ones I have been able to grab. With my lack of variety and experience this year, I don’t really feel qualified to join the typical game of the year discussions. So I thought, rather than writing another article on how great Skyrim is, I’d talk about a couple of quality games that surprised me this year, and a couple not-so-quality ones that were pretty disappointing.

First, I have to get in my plug for Bastion. I was anticipating this downloadable game mostly due to videos on Giant Bomb, but most of that coverage revolved around the people of Supergiant Games and the trials and tribulations of the development process, not so much about the game itself.

When it was finally released, I was pleased to find out that the art style was vibrant and beautiful, the narrator was every bit as good as promised, and the soundtrack was one of the best I’ve ever heard. Most of all, the gameplay was solid, which seems to be an item often forgotten with releases that tout their story and style loudly before they come out. I ended up beating it twice within a couple days of purchase, and it’s probably one of the best Xbox Live Arcade games I’ve ever played.

Second on the surprises list is Dark Souls. It wasn’t even on my radar until a week after release. Listening to the stories about how hard the first game was really intrigued me. Hearing discussion about how difficult to understand the game was and listening to phrases such as “tough, but fair” being bandied around finally pushed me to rent the game for a weekend.

The sheer complication grabbed me in a way that no other game had in quite a while. Not only was I exploring the world, I was also exploring the mechanics and figuring out how to play as I went. Sometimes, the learning process was rough, but the complete lack of hand-holding appealed to me and I had put almost fifteen hours into it by the time I had to return it. I’ve checked it out a couple more times since then, and I’m hoping to pick it up when I next have some spare cash.

Unfortunately, not all of the games I played this year surpassed my expectations, and Test Drive Unlimited 2 was the worst offender. I was a pretty big fan of the first Test Drive Unlimited. There’s something about cruising around Hawaii with a bunch of buddies and no real goal, but also without all the demands your regular directed experience puts on you.

When the second game was announced with more cars, better physics, and more roads, I preordered almost immediately. The original had its problems — problems that I thought would be fixed; come release day, though, that hadn’t happened. In fact, the multiplayer servers were so broken that it was almost a week before I even got in the same game with one of my friends. The Casino DLC (which I had to pay extra for) didn’t work for another week after that. The controls were still loose, and the Xbox steering wheel certainly didn’t help things.

Finally, the new storyline structure and the added “lifestyle” elements (some of which have been talked about on this very website) lent a bad taste to what was already a mediocre game. It still sits on my shelf, having dropped in value so fast that it’s not even worth trying to sell back for store credit.

Dead Island suffered from a lot of the same multiplayer issues. I got in on a Steam four-pack at the last minute on the merits of a four-player open-world zombie romp. What I got was a barely operable game that I could play with maybe one or two others, if the connection held long enough to get a mission done.

I thought I could get by on the single-player, but even that got boring after a few hours. Since everything is strictly leveled to your character, there was no fun of discovering a new awesome item or fighting a particularly hard enemy, and no point in completing all the pointless side quests to level up. On top of that, I seemed to pick the most worthless starting character, so by the time I made it to the end of the city that made up the second act, I was tired of fighting people with guns by trying to run up on them with a dagger. My save game still lies there, halfway through the story.

So there you go: a couple of good games worth trying during the new year, and a couple to avoid. Hopefully you make better purchasing decisions than I.

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First things first.

It’s my fault that our 2011 lists are so late getting out. I asked GamerDork’s wonderful writing staff back in December to start thinking of “Game of the Year” lists, or explorations, or whatever they felt like doing to commemorate the year, so that I could have a whole bunch of stuff to start off the new year with a bang.

Then my computer exploded. Well, sort of. Anyway, the end result, excuses aside, is that a lot of great stuff has been waiting patiently in the background to be seen, and that’s what will be featured on GamerDork this week. Before I launch into other folks’ experiences, I just wanted to be up front about why they’re a little late.

Also, I wanted to get my own list out first. Editorial privilege, you know.

I played a lot of games in 2011. This isn’t exactly a unique statement, is it? I feel like I may have gotten a bit excessive, though. I made a resolution at the beginning of last year to complete a game a week to cut down on my terrifying backlog, and I did indeed stick by that! I spent a few months unemployed at the beginning of the year, as well, and that did….scary, scary things to my overall time spent gaming. It’s probably a good thing I resisted the urge to go back to World of Warcraft.

Practically, what this has meant for me has been that it’s a lot more difficult to nail down what my favorite games–or, more to the point, my “games of the year”–might be. What a problem to have, eh? I can’t say I’m complaining.

Instead of having a single top five list (or top ten, or top three, or so forth), then, I’m breaking it up into three different lists, each with its own separate agenda. Let’s start with the list that might head off some outraged reactions if I get it out of the way early:

Top Five Games I Probably Should Have Played in 2011 (But Didn’t):

5. Shadows of the Damned

“Serious” games are all well and good, but sometimes you just have to play something with a gun called the “Big Boner.” I didn’t put Saints Row the Third on this list, largely because I didn’t play the first two, but it’s the same general principle. Ditto Bulletstorm, but that’s going to show up elsewhere.

4. Dark Souls

I was terrified of Demon’s Souls when it first came out, because I felt like I should like it, but the rumors of its difficulty made me feel like if I tried it and didn’t want to keep going, I had failed as a gamer. So, it sat on my shelf until the beginning of this year, when I became completely obsessed with it. Yes, it is a REALLY hard game, but it’s also very fair. If you fuck up and die, it’s because you fucked up and died, not because the game arbitrarily decided to kill you.

Anyway, with all the time I put into Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls should have been a lock for me to play (and probably love) in 2011, but it just didn’t happen. It’s in my plans for sure, though.

3. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure

(Note: Since I wrote this, I have indeed broken down and delved into the madness that is Skylanders. My current count is twelve. I knew this would happen.)

Every time I walk into a game store right now, I stop and paw wistfully at the Skylanders for a while. I’m not sure why I haven’t broken down yet; maybe it’s just that I know I’ll fall headfirst down the rabbit hole and go all Jeff Gerstmann on it, and my brain is making a desperate effort to save both my wallet and my sanity. Editorial powers mean that you may someday soon be seeing photo galleries of me and my Skylanders on this very site though, so…well, watch for that, I guess.

2. Star Wars: The Old Republic

I listen to a lot of podcasts, and while what I’ve heard about The Old Republic hasn’t necessarily been universally positive, it has been universally….. WoWish. I was very deep into WoW for a long time, and although I haven’t been back (largely because the people I was playing with at the time no longer play either), the concept of that plus lightsabers is awfully tempting. It’ll happen in 2012, for sure.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I know, I know. Shush.

Top Five Games I Really Wanted to List in My Top Five (But Couldn’t):

5. Bulletstorm

You know, I don’t care if they DID make a game where the phrase “I’ll kill your dick” is uttered completely seriously. In fact, I kind of liked Bulletstorm because of all the nonsense. I couldn’t quite see my way clear to declaring it as one of my favorite games of 2011 because….well, they DID include lines like “I’ll kill your dick.” Ridiculous games have their place, though, and I had a great time with this one, much to my own surprise.

4. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

My complaints against Uncharted 3 are much the same as other people’s; I absolutely think it is a fantastic game, and I enjoyed it a great deal, but it simply didn’t stand out the way that its predecessor did. Something feels distinctly wrong about brushing aside a game that’s clearly so technically and artistically accomplished simply because they did it before, but for me, Uncharted 3 slipped from my memory after I finished it in a way that Uncharted 2 didn’t.

3. LA Noire

This is another one that’s incredibly impressive from a technical standpoint, and indeed, impressive in general. The reason it didn’t make it onto my personal top five list is, simply, the disconnect between the player and Cole. There are times when you feel completely absorbed into the game, true, but then it can all be ruined by attempting to gently prod for more information only to have your on-screen proxy slam his fist into the wall and demand to know why you’re a rapist/murderer/demon. If that’s not enough, three words: Enforced flamethrower section.

2. Catherine

This one’s a painful admission. I really, really wanted to love Catherine. It has all the hallmarks of a game I should love, after all: it’s from the team responsible for Persona 4, it’s incredibly weird and Japanese, and it combines puzzle-solving with what amounts to a relationship sim. While I have nothing but respect for what Atlus tried to do here, though, it simply didn’t fit all that well for me. It’s a deeply flawed game, but it gets major props for doing something different and delving into material that most games don’t dare to touch, at least not in this way.

1. Alice: Madness Returns

For a very long time, I considered American McGee’s Alice to be my favorite PC game of all time. In a way, I still do (although I wouldn’t advise going back to play it again right now…. yikes). I wasn’t disappointed by its sequel, but the reason it didn’t make it onto my list is that it simply didn’t have the same impact that the first one did. Technical weirdness like texture pop-in aside, it was too long, and perhaps too much. Warts and all, this one came really, really close to making it onto my list anyway, but I couldn’t decide in the end whether it was nostalgia pushing my hand or not, so here it sits.

My Top Five Games of 2011

5. Batman: Arkham City

I knew I’d like Arkham City. After all, Arkham Asylum was fantastic, and this should simply be more of the same, right? Well, sort of. Many of the issues I had with AA were resolved with AC, including feeling cramped and forced to backtrack. This wasn’t a plus for everyone, but it was for me. I also got really into the side missions, despite them feeling sort of disconnected from (and at time, at odds with) the main story. In the end, it surprised me how much I enjoyed roaming around that part of Gotham, so it gets a place on this list.

4. Bastion

From the time I spent playing Bastion at PAX East 2011, I was pretty much smitten with it. It’s beautiful, has a simple, addictive gameplay system with upgrades available, and the narration draws players into the story in a way no other game has really matched to date. It’s a lovely, well-constructed package in which flaws are difficult to find, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I never played any of the prior Deus Ex games, so I had absolutely no expectations going into this one. In fact, I very nearly didn’t play it at all; I had no plans to pick it up, and only did so after hearing tons of good things from others (I’m a total sucker for peer pressure). When I did, I ended up loving the open-endedness of the game’s progression, and the multiple paths that become open to you as you customize your character. I suck at stealth, for example, so rather than waste points in those abilities, I centered on making a speedy hacker who was tough and good with guns. This served me just as well as if I’d gone in a different direction. Let’s just ignore those boss fights, shall we?

2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Motion controls are the bane of my gaming existence. The Wii games I play are frequently in spite of them, and my favorites tend to be the ones that don’t require me to use them at all, but rather allow for a Classic Controller or simply turning the remote sideways to emulate a NES paddle. Skyward Sword is the first Wii game I’ve played where I felt that the motion controls were not only bearable, but actually added to the game itself. Without them, the experience would not have been as strong. I could go on about the story being immersive and brilliant (primarily to pre-existing Zelda fans, but that’s me anyway), or about the impressionistic visuals being perfectly suited to the Wii’s capabilities, but in the end, I think the highest praise I can give Skyward Sword is that it made me like motion controls. That’s impressive.

1. Portal 2

I’m pretty sure Portal and Portal 2 are the only games I’ve ever played that can simultaneously make me feel like a genius and an idiot. The “AHA!” moments that they provide when you finally see that solution that’s been evading you are like nothing else. It would have been all too easy for Portal 2 to simply ride the coattails of its predecessor and do the same thing, only bigger. Sure, it does that to a point, but it’s so much more than that.

The writing continues to be consistently brilliant, the performances by all of the voice actors are inspired (particularly J.K. Simmons as Cave Johnson),  and the mechanics take a simple idea and expand it into something that effortlessly fills a whole game without becoming stale. More than that, they manage to add a co-op mode that’s completely different from the single-player experience and make it just as robust. I was impressed and dazzled and drawn in, and I believe that Portal 2 truly deserves the title of Game of the Year.

For me, anyway. Opinions will vary.

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SOPA protests reach all the way to GamerDork HQ this week, where we show our support by saying as many things that should probably be censored as we can. Oh, and we also talk about video games and stuff.

Visit us at our new home at SPOnG.com to download the new episode, subscribe on iTunes, or subscribe to our RSS feed!

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Hosts: Leah Haydu & Alex Shaw
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As I’ve been told I’m the board game go-to guy for GamerDork, I thought I should write a kind of introduction to the world of gaming without electricity for anyone who’s interested in trying this type of game.

Now I’m not saying I’m a guru on all things board games related, or know the answer to every question you may have.  Sorry — I’m not, and I don’t. What I am saying is I’m the dumb git who said he would write some articles about this strange world.

So where to begin?

I could sit here and extol the virtues of sitting round a table face-to-face with your opponent as you slowly crush them and their dreams of taking you down, then, walking out the door at the end of the night with their crumpled spirit in your back pocket, accompanied by the sound of them gently sobbing in a corner.

Er………..anyway……..where was I?

Oh yes, talking about the virtues and all that kind of thing.

I won’t do that though, as there have been so many of these pieces written before. Instead, I thought I’d try and talk about the problems within the genre. I know it sounds strange, but it will make sense. I hope.

It will take some time, so go get a drink, make yourself comfortable; I’ll wait.

Sorted?

All ready?

Then I’ll begin.

Picture the scene:

Two guys sit down at a table staring at a brightly coloured box. Let’s call them “Geek N” and “Geek K.”

“You ready for this?” asks N.

“Okay, let’s do it,” says K.

With that, they open the box. Both sit back and stare, then K exclaims, “Look at all this stuff! How the hell do we use all this!?”

N smiles, hands K the encyclopaedic rule book, and says, “This is how.”

This isn’t a joke; this is actually what happened the first time I sat down to play a board game with my friend and gaming compatriot, Mr. Xibxang.

Before I began this obsession, I was only playing board games with my daughter and my partner: the usual things like Monopoly, Guess Who, Mousetrap… you know, all those kinds of things.

Then I was asked if I would like to try some board gaming.  In the past, I’d tried my hand at Dungeons and Dragons, and tried a bit of Warhammer, so I thought, why not?

I sat down at the kitchen table and what I was faced with was unlike any game I had ever seen.  It was a game called Descent: Journeys in the Dark. Take a look at it:

See? Now do you know understand what I mean when I say I was totally overwhelmed?

So here is the first of the problems I’ve encountered: the sheer expansiveness of some of these games.

Dealing with all these parts is the start of what puts people off board gaming. All those cardboard pieces have to be pushed out of large sheets and sorted into groups. Cards have to be unwrapped and sorted into their separate decks, and all the figures have to be sorted out into relevant piles.

Then you have to find lots of little bags, or buy a segmented box to keep them in. Why do that, you ask?  Well if you don’t, you’re going to spend ages sorting out all those pieces every time you want to play a game. Let’s be honest; could you really be bothered? No, I didn’t think so! Go get some bags, then.

Another problem I’ve encountered is the space needed to play a game.  I’ve found myself, at one point while playing Descent, in charge of populating and controlling the game board, as well as being in charge of the playing pieces — kind of like the banker in Monopoly, if you will. Because of the number of pieces and the size of the playing area, I found myself with a chair on either side of me for the sole purpose of placing boxes on for easy access to everything I would need throughout the game, due to the fact that the board was occupying the entire table.

The next problem you’re going to face is the rule book. This can be a colossal pain in the posterior!

Before you can start playing, you are going to have to invest a few days in reading through this. You need not only read it, but also understand, decipher, and remember it; you also need to be prepared to impart all of the basic information to whoever you manage to press-gang into joining you for a game.

At that point, your choices are either you tell them, or give them the rule book and let them read it themselves.  I wouldn’t advise this with someone new to board games, though, because let’s face facts: if someone asked you to play a game, then handed you a gigantic book and said read this, then give me a call when you’re ready to play, how quick would you be in telling them where to stick the book?

What makes it even harder to do this, in my experience, is that most rule books are badly written and leave a lot up to interpretation by the players. Some rule books even have an updated version online within days of the game being released.

It’s at this point you find out just how much the internet, and especially board game forums, are your best friends.

I have found during play that a situation often (or should that be always) arises that the rule book doesn’t have a clear rule for. At this point you basically take a vote between the players to decide how you should proceed, or as most people call it, you make a ‘House Rule;’ once you have that sorted, you can carry on with the game.

When you have finished playing, it’s on to the internet to check the board games forums to find out what everyone else is doing at the point you had the problem with.  Then you have to copy it, print it, add it to the already HUGE rule book, and inform all the other players that you were right, they were wrong, and therefore their victory doesn’t count because they basically cheated (even though they didn’t know it at the time).

To address this problem, a lot of games companies have their own forums or Q&A pages that can answer any questions for you, but it still means trawling through sites, or asking and waiting for replies. For me personally, this is the biggest problem out there.  With all the actual play testing that is done, they should be able to get the rule books into a better, more easily understandable format.

The next problem? Time! Be prepared to sink a lot of time into playing board games.  As I said, you need to put a lot of time into just understanding the basics before you start playing.

Most games come with a basic time limit that it should take to play.  Now when you’re just starting to play, expect to double that time, at least. In some cases you may not even finish a full game the first few times. What you’ll find extends the time is constantly having to refer to the rule book.  No matter how well you think you know the rules, I can guarantee you will forget, or need to check how certain things work.

“But, I’ve got a photographic memory!” you say. “Does every person around the table have one?” I reply, and “do you think I’m going to trust you when the fate of my adventurers and the chance to take you down is at stake?”

This means you pause while the rule is read out, and everyone tries to digest and interpret how it affects what they were planning on doing.

There is one more problem, and it’s the biggest and worst of them all: the addiction factor!

I’m not only talking about the time you spend on these games; it’s the bank-draining extras. With so many of these games companies bringing out expansions and add-ons, if you like a game, you will probably want all the new shiny bits to add to it.

Then you become a real geek! Like I mentioned near the start, you spend your hard-earned cash on special slip cases for your cards and new boxes to hold all those little pieces in their own separate sections.

Yes, I am that geek. Here’s my box for the Tannhauser game.

Notice the spaces? These are for some of the extra figures I will end up buying. Yes, I have thought that far ahead. Yes, I’ve already said it. I’m a geek!

As I’ve said, there is a lot of preparation before you even get to the playing of a game. But if you and a group of friends or family are prepared to sink the time into the preparation, then what you will find is a truly absorbing world of gaming.

Of course, the games I’m talking about here are more of the large-scale sprawling games, and there are small quick-play ones available. However, the basic principals and pitfalls are the same no matter which type you play.

The styles and genres of games available are immense. If you have a particular favourite style of movie, book or video game, I can guarantee there is a board game about it. There are large- and small-scale games, card games, and dice games; it’s almost limitless. I’m sure there’s one out there that’s perfect for you. The only problem is finding it, but I think you will have a fun journey while you search for the one.

I hope that after reading this piece, you will still give board games a try. The pitfalls and problems I’ve detailed above are far outweighed by the fun you can have when a group of you get round a table with a game you love.

If you do want to follow me down the rabbit hole, a great source of information on almost every board game out there is http://boardgamegeek.com/ If you try a game and get stuck, the forums over there are a great and friendly source of help.

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Try to imagine the life of a time gone by.  It was a time of people reading games magazines, sitting in their bedrooms watching loading screens, and hearing the screeching noise of cassette-tape decks playing code that would result in a race for the mute button.  These were the days before the behemoth publishers such as EA and Valve became commonly known.  Yes, the late 80s and early 90s are fondly remembered by some of us due to the simplicity of life, and generally low expectations of games.

We can relate to Grand Theft Auto : Vice City’s radio adverts for the Degenatron video game system, where you control the green dot in your race to defeat the monstrous red square!  In those days, games were much more arcade-like in their design, since there weren’t large budgets to afford mainstream media advertising, and the arcades were where many kids and adults alike spent their change.  The graphics there were often far superior to what you could have in your own house, so you were happy with the often-poor home conversions of games.

If you ask a cross section of people, you will find a large amount of diversity in their choices of the golden age of gaming — when things took a leap forward and the expectations of gamers changed.  To some, it is the Wii with its casual gaming, and the XBox 360 / PS3 with the move to HD graphics.  To others, it’s the 16-bit era of the Super Nintendo and Sega Megadrive, with great conversions of Street Fighter 2.  To me, it is the 32-bit era of the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn.

This was when the hardware reached the stage where developers were making games on CD and making full use of the larger capacity of storage space available.  The following generation, however, saw the PC make a push from being something to replace your typewriter to representing itself as a solid games machine.  During the late 90’s and early years of the 21^st century, the online gaming scene pushed things from local multiplayer with a few mates to anonymous gaming with the world, and online patching and expansion became the norm.

Since games designers have had the opportunity to push more and more programming into their titles, a precedent has been set where we often feel a product is devalued if it contains a main storyline that can be completed in a relatively short time.  With the arcade-style games of old, they were usually completed in a couple of hours.  Even one of the most classic games of all time, Sonic the Hedgehog, can be completed in little over an hour without skipping any levels.  Super Mario Bros. 3 can be completed much faster if you use the warps to get to the last world straightaway.

Today’s gamers are surprised if they bring a game home, unwrap it and insert the disc into the drive and are not expected to immediately download a patch.  With the ruthless market expectations, developers are expected to commit to a release date and stick to it (with the obvious exception of Duke Nukem Forever!).

This means that games are churned out to meet sales, but are often unfinished.  Resident Evil 5, for example, caused a big media backlash for announcing that its online versus mode was going to be released as DLC instead of part of the main game.

So with games systems featuring increasingly important online components, patches have become commonplace, and this has opened the door for increasingly large hard drive space allocation.  Of course, games prices have risen to help subsidise the mounting development costs associated with these demands.  As a result, gamers expect to be rewarded with a good value return on their investment.

Twitter’s @MonicaRosalyn gave me her thoughts :

You definitely want to get your money’s worth from a purchase.  When you’re spending the sort of money that games cost these days, you feel you need to invest a lot time in them and it’s disappointing when you have finished the game in a couple of days.

So how do the game designers tailor their games to repay that investment?  Some push for an involving storyline, emotionally attaching you to charismatic people such as Nathan Drake, John Marston, or Lieutenant Commander John (or Jane) Shepard.  Some try to achieve the same idea, but fail to make the protagonist likeable.  Grand Theft Auto 4 would have been better received if Niko Bellic wasn’t instantly forgettable.

Although the character is an important aspect of the game, modern day RPGs have taught us that you can, to a certain degree, role-play and develop characters in your own styling.  You might choose to play Fallout 3 as a psychopath, homicidally murdering people in their sleep and insulting everyone you speak to.  (Telling a woman she was bats**t crazy was hilarious to me!)  If nothing else, it lets us mold the story to our own choosing, rather than dictating a linear path in the style of games like Uncharted 3.  I have previously written about being a recovering World of Warcraft addict, and so asked Monica how important the story is to a current MMO player.

As a MMORPG player the main game is not really started until you reach the top levels. There has to be a fair balance between the story of the game as you reach the top levels, and the content you unlock when you get there.  You also need some direction with your quests.  Although we like to explore the environments, it can be very disheartening when you don’t have a clue where you need to go for the latest quest you picked up.

It’s very important to have a main storyline so that you know what the aim of the game is and you know what you are fighting for! After all, you are most likely playing the role of a hero (or villain) whose aim is to save (or destroy) the world!

Amongst the titles in her gaming library, Monica plays Final Fantasy XI.  As with all MMOs, a lot of the draw that brings us back to these games is the community.  We have both spent hours in our respective games completely ignoring any questing because we are too busy using them as expensive online chat rooms.  I’m pretty sure that’s not what the developers had in mind, but as long as we keep paying them their monthly subscription fees, I don’t think they’ll stop us!

Sometimes you just sit at the keys and don't want to go out and kill things.

Of course there are plenty of free to play titles now, which operate on micro-transactions.  This type of retail means that you are, in effect, playing a massive pizza base of a demo, with the option of adding extra toppings through purchasing character slots, classes, and in some cases (notably Lord of the Rings Online), even quests!

This does allow you to try and actually play the game for free, all the time ignoring that constant carrot on a string dangling in front of your eyes, offering instant access to top-level gear, but amazingly, Sony appears to have made quite a lot of money in PlayStation Home by selling clothes for avatars, and Microsoft has tempted lots of users to buy that Lightsaber for their avatar.

It’s now mid-January, and I racked up a decent list of games completed in 2011.  Since I wrote my investigation into games rental services, I have played many games that I would never have touched, and have been quietly surprised by the content of some of them.  With the mass media advertising of certain games (Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Zelda: Skyward Sword), it is very easy to ignore budget titles.  Titles like Bastion have proved that you don’t need to invest £40 to be drawn into a good game, and that there are plenty of options out there for the modern gamer.  Do yourself a favour and try some indie games on Steam, XBLA and PSN.  It’s not all Plants vs Zombies and Angry Birds.  If we don’t support small developers, we will just have endless sequels flooding the market.

Monica is a part-time library assistant who is working towards becoming a web developer. Her hobbies include computer gaming and fitness (she is qualified in level 2 Fitness Instructing!).  You can follow her on Twitter by searching for @MonicaRosalyn, and check out her blog which is at http://michaelhoward.net/monicablog/ .

If you know of anyone that may have an unhealthy addiction to massively multiplayer online roleplaying games, don’t worry too much.  After a few years, this will turn to boredom as their friends move on to other games and the community they enjoy disappears.

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I never played Nanostray, Shin’en Multimedia’s scrolling space shooter for the DS, nor did I pick up its sequel, Nanostray 2, so when the cousin of the family, Nano Assault, showed up for the 3DS, it nearly sailed right under my radar. It would’ve been a shame if it had, because while the game isn’t exactly the most complex or demanding experience around, it’s definitely an entertaining way to spend a few hours.

Like Nanostray, Nano Assault has you piloting a ship loaded with a variety of explodey-bits which you will use to blast your way through the waves of baddies blocking your path. Unlike Nanostray, though, Nano Assault takes the “Nano” part of its name a bit more literally by making your spaceship tiny, and your field of battle the infected cells of the human body.

Ever seen the movie Fantastic Voyage? Or the Magic School Bus TV series? It’s sort of like that, if you add Trauma Center, and also Space Invaders.

The premise is really simple: there’s a horrible virus running rampant, and you must hunt it down and destroy it to prevent its spread. The controls aren’t much more complex; you move your ship with the analog stick, and shoot with the A, B, X, and Y buttons, each of which corresponds to the direction in which your ship will shoot when they’re pressed.

There are two types of levels to traverse. The majority are ground stages, which function very similarly to the planets in Super Mario Galaxy; they’re three-dimensional maps of cells on which you must use your ship first to collect three segments of DNA scattered over the cell’s surface, then to eradicate the viruses infesting the cell itself. Once both of these tasks have been accomplished, the cell is “purified,” and you can move on to the next.

The ground levels are interspersed with more traditional on-rails sections that play a bit like a twin-stick shooter…only with just the one stick. I found these levels a bit more difficult to navigate than the ground ones for that very reason; your targeting reticule is more sensitive than your ship’s movement, but they’re both controlled by the same stick, so if you find yourself in a situation where you need to move around quickly and/or precisely, it can feel like your ship is simply lagging a bit behind your crosshairs.

Difficulty scales to you, but it seems to err on the side of caution as it does so; I never felt particularly challenged, and I breezed through all 32 stages in a few short hours. If I can do that, I imagine it’d be even easier for someone who’s actually good at this genre.

There’s precious little in the way of story to be found in Nano Assault, but fortunately the visuals are good enough that it doesn’t matter a whole lot. The stages themselves aren’t drastically different in style, but they are quite pretty, and the bosses make up for any lack of variance by being creative and impressive in scale.

It’s also worth noting that the 3D is implemented quite well, particularly in the rail-shooter sequences and aforementioned boss fights. It’s no slouch in the cell-roving sections either, and in fact got me daydreaming about how sweet an iteration of Mario Galaxy on the 3DS could be.

If you’re looking for a deep, engrossing adventure, this really isn’t it. If, however, you’re interested in a straightforward, well-realized 3D shooter to entertain you for a while, Nano Assault is worth a look. Replay value is low, but while you’re in it, you’ll have a good time.

6/10

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