Star Ocean: The Last Hope International
What a difference a year makes. Back in the archaic days of June 2009 - back before the iPad, Jedward and when Wii's were only available in white - Star Ocean: The Last Hope seemed like a decent investment for the Xbox 360 crowd. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was entertaining enough to whittle away the dreary summer holidays. Eight months later, Star Ocean: The Last Hope - International unceremoniously arrives on the PS3 with almost all of the flaws of the original and no new content. It's also a damning indictment of the ear-bursting Western voiceover work that the option to select the Japanese voice actors is International's main selling point.
Dante’s Inferno
Nobody has actually read the whole of Inferno, though many Literature students keep a copy on their shelf to look clever. Dante Alighieri's fourteenth-century poem opens with Dante, a middle-age man, pondering his existence in a dark wood. Pretty boring. Dante's Inferno, the 2010 videogame, starts with Dante pulling off a 100-hit combo in Jerusalem, killing Death so he can nick off with his scythe and falling into hell so he can rescue his woman Beatrice. Cha-ching!
Vancouver 2010
When the 2010 Winter Olympics finally kick off this month there's no doubt in my mind the land will be awash with white, crunchy snow. Fun snow. Not like snow here, which is only fun for two hours before it turns brown, forces everyone to spend more money on their heating bills and quickly reduces the entire country to a quivering wreck. This official licensed videogame of the event definitely gets it white, with Vancouver 2010 doing a splendid job recreating the firm crunch of the snow-crusted arenas with some of Sega's trademarked crisp blue skies to boot.
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Few people would have rallied for the return of high-spirited frat-pair Salem and Rios after the mess the two made in their chest-bumping, fist-pumping, mass murdering lads tour through the first Army of Two back in 2008. But return they have, complete with a character select screen where they jostle for your attention and finish by flexing their considerable bulk and psyching themselves up in front of the camera before loading your last checkpoint. Lads!
Resonance of Fate
Returning to Resonance of Fate, after previewing it last August, was like having a good time with an old friend I didn't realise I'd missed. Tri-Ace's steampunk fantasy continues to hiss, puff and chug out a universe that, whilst familiar, is continually endearing.
Dark Void
There's a point near the start of Dark Void where Will, the game's hero, unsuccessfully leaps off a collapsing bridge, his outstretched arm mere inches away from solid ground. He's caught by Ava, the game's female love interest, in what is clearly intended as a dramatic moment but is an unnecessary conceit: Will's wearing a bloody great jetpack, after all. Later on, a character asks him how he manages to achieve the things he does. Our protagonist laughs, proclaiming that he just tries to stay out of his own way. But, really, the answer - once again - is his amazing experimental jetpack. It's made by Nikolai Tesla and it's got guns on it and everything.
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Adventure Continues
LEGO games are for kids, aren't they? That might be the whole point, but I'm 23 (and the best part of a half, sadly) and I merrily stroll through them every autumn, lapping up their inimitable sense of humour and simplistic platform mechanics. But whilst those youngsters might be happy to consume any old LEGO game in-between trips to McDonalds and committing knife crimes, I wasn't exactly enthralled at the prospect of spending a week with Indiana Jones 2. It seemed like a bit of a lame duck from the start, signalling a deficit of creativity and inspiration from even its usage of inelegant numbering. Quite simply, I had the game flagged as an unnecessary stop-gap between the excellent Lego Batman and 2010's Lego Harry Potter.
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age is big. Really big. Over fifty hours big, and that's if you skip tons of side quests. Then your eye creeps over to the suffix: Origins. BioWare's latest unashamed fantasy epic, which once again pits you against impossible odds to decide the fate of the entire world, is - sales and reception permitting, I imagine - the equivalent of dipping your foot in the pool to test the waters.
Tekken 6
Even the most die-hard fanatic of Namco's flagship fighter will concede that the series, in terms of mass-market consumption in the West, peaked at Tekken 3. That was 1998 - a long, long time ago, when Microsoft hadn't even begun to think about getting into the console market and European versions of everything still came locked at a despicable 50hz. Such faraway sentimentality ensures that the home version of Tekken 6, released to coincide with the series' 15th (I'm so old) anniversary, has a tough gig: it has to compete with nostalgia, the fighting genre's increasingly niche status in the West and the fact Street Fighter IV arrived earlier this year entirely unfazed by both.
EyePet
EyePet is not, as the name suggests, a pet made out of eyes. The reality, a mix between Gizmo from Gremlins and a tiny monkey, is far more adorable. And it's surprising how often the technology works: as an advert for webcam gaming EyePet is a nothing short of a triumph, the game's best moments coming from the virtual pet seamlessly interacting with the on-screen mirror of your living room. He'll spot your fingers wiggling, jump over your hand when it passes by, scamper over to your legs when you tap your toes and, if you accidentally knock him too hard, will fall over onto his lovably fluffy back. Plus you can dress him up in a stripy t-shirt, pop a beret on his noggin and call him Monsieur Bobbins.
About Me
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- Watching a couple opposite me celebrate an anniversary. Am both disgusted at their public affection - this is ENGLAND - and horribly jealous
- A Guardian caption typo is currently claiming that Northern Rock is to pay 16 billion in bonuses. That's a big wad of cash.
- Holy moly Jagged Alliance 3.
- Hank Chien's life sounds awesome. Plastic surgeon by day, King of Kong by night!
- @JCRgate That and whatever hefty update the PS3 needs every time I get around to switching it on.