I have been playing the 360 demo for FIFA 09 and it's pretty good. I couldn't get on with it at first, some of the controls are slightly different and the crossing just isn't working for me so far, but I have really started to enjoy it. Some of the new things in it are great, e.g. the tackles and the way players fall, etc.
However, I have to remind myself that I have pre-ordered the Wii version. Here's hoping that it doesn't disappoint...
Fingers crossed it won't! And let's not forget the Wii-specific modes, like Footii Match:
Roll on October 3rd!
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Trades
Took most of my "to trade" pile to CEX yesterday and came away with £39.20 in store credit. Promptly spent this on:
Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Wii)
Madden NFL 07 (Wii)
Rainbow Six Vegas (360)
Plus 3 DVDs that I won't bother to name!
The only one of the above that I've tried so far is Rainbow Six Vegas, which is fantastic. Far better than Ghost Recon Advance Warfighter, which was consigned to the trade-in pile yesterday. Looking forward to trying DBZ and Madden 07. I'll admit that selecting Madden 07 was a bit of a risk as I'm not that into NFL (hence why I'm not fussed about rosters or other details being two years out of date) but am hoping it will still be enjoyable, especially in multiplayer with Player Two.
So what DIDN'T I pick up? I had Conan (360) in my hand for a long time and I took a long hard look at Battalion Wars II (Wii), however I later found that both of these are in the 2 for £20 range at Gamestation, so my next trade in may be done there with a view to picking these up.
Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Wii)
Madden NFL 07 (Wii)
Rainbow Six Vegas (360)
Plus 3 DVDs that I won't bother to name!
The only one of the above that I've tried so far is Rainbow Six Vegas, which is fantastic. Far better than Ghost Recon Advance Warfighter, which was consigned to the trade-in pile yesterday. Looking forward to trying DBZ and Madden 07. I'll admit that selecting Madden 07 was a bit of a risk as I'm not that into NFL (hence why I'm not fussed about rosters or other details being two years out of date) but am hoping it will still be enjoyable, especially in multiplayer with Player Two.
So what DIDN'T I pick up? I had Conan (360) in my hand for a long time and I took a long hard look at Battalion Wars II (Wii), however I later found that both of these are in the 2 for £20 range at Gamestation, so my next trade in may be done there with a view to picking these up.
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Bad Company
With the fantastic offer at Morrisons where all their 360 titles are 25 quid I was considering what else I should pick up.
With this in mind I downloaded the demo of Battlefield Bad Company. I'd tried it when it was first released and didn't really get on with it. Trying it again I got further than I did previously, but still came away unconvinced.
I'm not saying it's a bad game. It's clearly very popular, but the challenges it presents don't really interest me, unfortunately.
Oh well, what's next?
With this in mind I downloaded the demo of Battlefield Bad Company. I'd tried it when it was first released and didn't really get on with it. Trying it again I got further than I did previously, but still came away unconvinced.
I'm not saying it's a bad game. It's clearly very popular, but the challenges it presents don't really interest me, unfortunately.
Oh well, what's next?
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Maybe Madden?
Testing out the mail-to-blog feature I've just activated, which means I can post from my mobile phone!
After enjoying Tiger 09 so much on Wii last night, I'm considering other sports titles.
I've already ordered Fifa 09 for Wii, but am now planning on picking up Madden too. I can't afford the 09 version, but with some games to trade in I'm hoping to pick up the 07 or 08 version.
After enjoying Tiger 09 so much on Wii last night, I'm considering other sports titles.
I've already ordered Fifa 09 for Wii, but am now planning on picking up Madden too. I can't afford the 09 version, but with some games to trade in I'm hoping to pick up the 07 or 08 version.
Monday, 8 September 2008
Tiger Woods (part 2!)
Morrisons currently have a fantastic sale on where you can pick up chart Wii titles for £15 and 360 titles for £25, amongst others. With this offer out there I couldn't resist picking up Tiger 09, but for which platform?
Arriving at the store this morning I still wasn't sure. Waiting for the doors to open I used the mobile internet on my phone (which is brilliant by the way! Remember when WAP was a joke and was more like teletext than the supposed mobile internet? Well now there really is such a thing as a mobile internet, and it is good!) to read up on a few more opinions.
Even in the store I had both copies in my hand at one stage and seriously considered buying both. In the end, the lure of motion controls and a price tag £10 lower meant the Wii version won the day.
Having just finished my first nine holes on Tiger, I am satisfied I made the right choice! Phew!
For the record, I ended up six over par. One birdie, 3 pars and... well, you can probably guess the rest...
I also picked up two copies of a DS game for Player Boy and Player Girl to unwrap at Xmas and also a 360 copy of GTA IV for me to unwrap!
Arriving at the store this morning I still wasn't sure. Waiting for the doors to open I used the mobile internet on my phone (which is brilliant by the way! Remember when WAP was a joke and was more like teletext than the supposed mobile internet? Well now there really is such a thing as a mobile internet, and it is good!) to read up on a few more opinions.
Even in the store I had both copies in my hand at one stage and seriously considered buying both. In the end, the lure of motion controls and a price tag £10 lower meant the Wii version won the day.
Having just finished my first nine holes on Tiger, I am satisfied I made the right choice! Phew!
For the record, I ended up six over par. One birdie, 3 pars and... well, you can probably guess the rest...
I also picked up two copies of a DS game for Player Boy and Player Girl to unwrap at Xmas and also a 360 copy of GTA IV for me to unwrap!
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Tiger Woods
With the Ryder Cup looming my interest in golf hits it's peak. I am considering sorting myself out with some lessons again and maybe dragging my golf bag out of the bag of the garage for a trip to the driving range. More to the point, I'm also looking to play some video game golf!!
With that in mind I've taken Tiger Woods 07 for my 360 down from the shelf for a play. I got it before Christmas 2007 when I was stockpiling 360 games in preparation for the big day and consequently I've played it once since then which didn't go too far beyond loading it up and making sure it worked.
I've played a few rounds over the past few days, enough to get a good feel for the game certainly, but tonight it's hit the "to trade in" pile!
The game is beyond frustrating! All my shots seem to be coming up way short of the target, not to mention the predicted "yardage" of the clubs. I'm having no end of problems actually driving the ball in a straight blooming line for starters!!
I don't know whether it's me, the 360 controller or the game or a combination of all three. I do know that I didn't have these problems with Tiger 04, 05 or 06 in the GameCube and am now regretting not having any of those to fall back on.
My thoughts turn, somewhat predictably, to the recently released 09 version. I've downloaded a demo of the 360 version and have found it much more comfortable than the 07 version. However, I can't decide now between the 360 version and the Wii version.
I quite like the idea of the motion controls for the Wii version as this could bring some level of actual skill into the game in multiplayer. I found on the Cube versions in multiplayer that myself and Player Two rarely ever hit a bad shot, any differences were usually down to poor club selection or getting a bad lie, etc. So the idea of having to execute a swing correctly (even if it's not a 1:1 reproduction of an actual golf swing) might be quite cool. Plus the Wii version is cheaper than the 360 one.
However, there are likely to be days when I just can't be bothered to stand up in my study and swing my arms around like a lunatic. Days where I just want to slump in a chair and press buttons, etc. Days when I can't get the kids off the Wii so I can play what I want to play, dammit! So the 360 version has it's appeal...
With that in mind I've taken Tiger Woods 07 for my 360 down from the shelf for a play. I got it before Christmas 2007 when I was stockpiling 360 games in preparation for the big day and consequently I've played it once since then which didn't go too far beyond loading it up and making sure it worked.
I've played a few rounds over the past few days, enough to get a good feel for the game certainly, but tonight it's hit the "to trade in" pile!
The game is beyond frustrating! All my shots seem to be coming up way short of the target, not to mention the predicted "yardage" of the clubs. I'm having no end of problems actually driving the ball in a straight blooming line for starters!!
I don't know whether it's me, the 360 controller or the game or a combination of all three. I do know that I didn't have these problems with Tiger 04, 05 or 06 in the GameCube and am now regretting not having any of those to fall back on.
My thoughts turn, somewhat predictably, to the recently released 09 version. I've downloaded a demo of the 360 version and have found it much more comfortable than the 07 version. However, I can't decide now between the 360 version and the Wii version.
I quite like the idea of the motion controls for the Wii version as this could bring some level of actual skill into the game in multiplayer. I found on the Cube versions in multiplayer that myself and Player Two rarely ever hit a bad shot, any differences were usually down to poor club selection or getting a bad lie, etc. So the idea of having to execute a swing correctly (even if it's not a 1:1 reproduction of an actual golf swing) might be quite cool. Plus the Wii version is cheaper than the 360 one.
However, there are likely to be days when I just can't be bothered to stand up in my study and swing my arms around like a lunatic. Days where I just want to slump in a chair and press buttons, etc. Days when I can't get the kids off the Wii so I can play what I want to play, dammit! So the 360 version has it's appeal...
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Spider-Man : Friend or Foe Review (PC)
Thought I would post this here, it's a review I wrote over at rllmukforum last November:
I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts on this new title by Activision as it seems to have garnered a lot of (in my humble opinion) unfair negative criticism. A good example of this is in the latest issue of ONM, in the release dates section. They say (paraphrased, because I've left it downstairs and can't be bothered to go and get it) "We've not mentioned it before, and with good reason because it's rubbish."
Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not.
Okay, so it's no Halo 3, Bioshock, FIFA 08, Super Mario Galaxy, etc. But it is a fun little game, very much on a par with Lego Star Wars. In fact that's pretty much the template for the game and if Lego hadn't lost the Spider-Man licence to Mega Blocks a few years back then this might have been put out by Traveller's Tales. So it's a fairly simple game. Lots of combat, some very simple puzzles, boss fights, cool cut scenes, a fair smattering of unlockables, etc.
I'll talk about the things that bother me about this game first. Top of this list is that when playing, one of the two characters HAS to be Spider-Man. Okay, so his name is on the cover so you'd kind of expect that, but you can't even go back and re-play the level as, for instance, Blade or Iron Fist instead of Spidey. It would have been really nice to have had a "Free Play" mode similar to what is offered in Lego Star Wars. If you're playing in 2-player co-op (the way it was meant to be played, IMHO, just like Lego Star Wars) then someone always has to be Spidey, which could lead to arguments. At least if you are playing solo you can switch between characters so could just pick your fave as the AI backup and switch once the game gets going, but still...
Second on the list of niggles is the character list. There are some excellent choices in there (IRON FIST!!!) but I just wish it was larger, more on a par with... you guessed it... Lego Star Wars! Like I said, what is there is great, but I just wanted more!
It's also a relatively short game. If you die, you quickly re-spawn, unless you are in a boss fight, in which case if both characters die then you have to start the fight over, so it's not going to take you too long to complete.
On to the positives...
This is a brilliant game to play with kids, especially if they are Spidey fans. I'll admit it, I bought this primarily to play in 2 player co-op mode with my son, and we have had loads of fun with it. We've completed the story mode and unlocked all the characters, but we're now going back to re-play levels where we didn't collect all the items so we can tick off everything and upgrade all the characters to their maximum levels.
Combat is very simple, which is no bad thing if you're playing with a kid as your partner. But it does look really good and some of the moves the characters pull off had me and my son smiling and cheering.
The story line is fun, especially if you are into Spider-Man and know some of the background to the characters in the game. The storyline sets up a sequel nicely and I'm really hoping we get one, especially if it tackles some of the niggles mentioned above.
There is also a one-on-one 2-player mode where you can use any of the unlocked characters (and there is no requirement for one character to be Spider-Man like in the story mode) which works well. It plays very similarly to Power-Stone, which I think is a pretty good recommendation. Again, if there is a sequel I'd love to see this expanded to 4-player mode with free-for-all and team fights, etc.
Graphics are good. They're not going to win awards, but the art style is fun and consistent. All the characters are easily identifiable and it's just plain great to see some of the lesser known characters (Iron Fist, for example) represented in a game.
The game's also relatively cheap. I picked it up for £15 on PC and I saw the PS2 version in Game on Friday for £20.
Bottom line... Highly recommended, particularly if you have kids to play the game with and/or you liked Lego Star Wars.
I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts on this new title by Activision as it seems to have garnered a lot of (in my humble opinion) unfair negative criticism. A good example of this is in the latest issue of ONM, in the release dates section. They say (paraphrased, because I've left it downstairs and can't be bothered to go and get it) "We've not mentioned it before, and with good reason because it's rubbish."
Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not.
Okay, so it's no Halo 3, Bioshock, FIFA 08, Super Mario Galaxy, etc. But it is a fun little game, very much on a par with Lego Star Wars. In fact that's pretty much the template for the game and if Lego hadn't lost the Spider-Man licence to Mega Blocks a few years back then this might have been put out by Traveller's Tales. So it's a fairly simple game. Lots of combat, some very simple puzzles, boss fights, cool cut scenes, a fair smattering of unlockables, etc.
I'll talk about the things that bother me about this game first. Top of this list is that when playing, one of the two characters HAS to be Spider-Man. Okay, so his name is on the cover so you'd kind of expect that, but you can't even go back and re-play the level as, for instance, Blade or Iron Fist instead of Spidey. It would have been really nice to have had a "Free Play" mode similar to what is offered in Lego Star Wars. If you're playing in 2-player co-op (the way it was meant to be played, IMHO, just like Lego Star Wars) then someone always has to be Spidey, which could lead to arguments. At least if you are playing solo you can switch between characters so could just pick your fave as the AI backup and switch once the game gets going, but still...
Second on the list of niggles is the character list. There are some excellent choices in there (IRON FIST!!!) but I just wish it was larger, more on a par with... you guessed it... Lego Star Wars! Like I said, what is there is great, but I just wanted more!
It's also a relatively short game. If you die, you quickly re-spawn, unless you are in a boss fight, in which case if both characters die then you have to start the fight over, so it's not going to take you too long to complete.
On to the positives...
This is a brilliant game to play with kids, especially if they are Spidey fans. I'll admit it, I bought this primarily to play in 2 player co-op mode with my son, and we have had loads of fun with it. We've completed the story mode and unlocked all the characters, but we're now going back to re-play levels where we didn't collect all the items so we can tick off everything and upgrade all the characters to their maximum levels.
Combat is very simple, which is no bad thing if you're playing with a kid as your partner. But it does look really good and some of the moves the characters pull off had me and my son smiling and cheering.
The story line is fun, especially if you are into Spider-Man and know some of the background to the characters in the game. The storyline sets up a sequel nicely and I'm really hoping we get one, especially if it tackles some of the niggles mentioned above.
There is also a one-on-one 2-player mode where you can use any of the unlocked characters (and there is no requirement for one character to be Spider-Man like in the story mode) which works well. It plays very similarly to Power-Stone, which I think is a pretty good recommendation. Again, if there is a sequel I'd love to see this expanded to 4-player mode with free-for-all and team fights, etc.
Graphics are good. They're not going to win awards, but the art style is fun and consistent. All the characters are easily identifiable and it's just plain great to see some of the lesser known characters (Iron Fist, for example) represented in a game.
The game's also relatively cheap. I picked it up for £15 on PC and I saw the PS2 version in Game on Friday for £20.
Bottom line... Highly recommended, particularly if you have kids to play the game with and/or you liked Lego Star Wars.
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