lost in games

Micromania is organising a Games Bazaar this Saturday, 22 May 2010 at their Nicosia store. The announcement and games available are on the website.

Here are some cheap games i have noticed:

@EUR5

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (360)
Timeshift (360),
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (360)
GTA: Vice City Stories (PSP)
Twisted Metal: Head-on (PSP)

@EUR15

Echoshift (PSP)
Bioshock (PS3)
Race Driver Grid (360)
CoD: World at War (360)
Little Big Planet (PS3)
Wipeout Pulse (PSP)
Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros Treasure (Wii)
Saints Row 2 (360)
Mercenaries 2 (360)

What a week this promises to be!

Long Weekend quote suggestions.

“Honey, I think I lost around Euros200 cash. What? What games? Oh these. These are old ones!”

“Yeah mum, the teacher did not give us any homework for next week.”

“I am sorry honey but it’s best not to go anywhere this long weekend. It will be so crowded.”

“I think we need to save the money for our proper summer holidays”

“Sorry mate I can’t come over today. I am baby sitting”

“Beach? No way, the water is still too cold.”

Best excuse of the week Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption (PS3, 360).

Also other good excuses are Alan Wake (360), Split/Second (PS3, 360, PC) and Prince of Persia (PS3, 360).

360

Alan Wake
Read Dead Redemption
Split/second
Shrek Forever After
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten sands

PS3

Read Dead Redemption
Split/second
Shrek Forever After
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten sands

Wii

Bit. Trip Runner
Trauma Team
Trackmania
Shrek Forever After
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten sands

PC

Split/second
Runaway: A Twist of Fate

DS

Trackmania 2
Shrek Forever After
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten sands
Blue Dragon: Awakened shadow

PSP

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten sands

I rarely go the cinemas anymore. There must be a very good reason for me to go. Last year there were two (Batman: The Dark Knight and Star Trek).

Last weekend i went to watch Kick-Ass a movie adaptation of the comic book series written by Mark Millar but which i have never read.

The movie exceeded all my expectations. I thought it was funny, had excellent fight scenes, it managed to mix reality and the comic book world brilliantly and provided us with some fantastic characters.

Definitely one of the best movies i have seen this year and one of best comic book adaptations to date, if not the best.

Podcasts are not very popular in Cyprus. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that there is no puplic transport to provide someone with a great opportunity to use any means possible to shut everything and everyone out while you are using it.Unfortunately this means missing out on some great videogame related podcasts out there. For anyone not familiar about what a podcast is, it’s basically a recording of a discussion on an audio or video format allowing you to download it after it’s done.

Here is a list of some podcasts i enjoy if you want to try them out.

Gamers With Jobs Conference Call - This is my favourite audio podcast. It’s comprised of Canadians and Americans discussing the latest games they have been playing and also cover videogame industry topics in general. They are not professionals of the industry but just people who love the hobby. Great, mature stuff.

Hatchet Job - This one has cropped out of nowhere for me and i really like it and it’s with British and Americans on the panel. Again, these guys are not professionals. It has become a close second to the GWJ podcast.

GiantBombcast - This is an entirely different breed than the other two. It’s a podcast by people who are working in the videogame industry i.e. write reviews, go to events and so on. It’s entirely american based but It’s very relaxed though and quite fun. The only problem i have with it is that it is too long (up to 2hrs).

Finally, the Totally Rad Show video podcast. It’s not entirely devoted to games but they also cover films, tv series and sometimes comics. Again, three friends discussing and reviewing games. A really excellent video podcast which i highly recommend.

I hope you try them out and enjoy them as much as i do. If you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know as I am always looking for something new.

Question 1 – Do you have 2-3 mates you can play online with?

No -> Move on to Q2, nothing to see here.
Yes -> Lost Planet 2 (PS3, 360) is your game of the week!

Question 2 - Do you like skateboarding?

No -> Move on to Q3, nothing to see here.
Yes -> Skate 3 (PS3, 360) is your game of the week!

Question 3 - Do you have fond memories of the old Zelda games?

No -> Sorry, try again next week.
Yes -> 3D Dot Game Heroes

First of, let me express my best wishes for the year for 2010 to you and your families.Now then, I sincerely hope you took a breather during the Christmas holidays because you are going to need all your strength (and quite possibly a lot of cash) in the first 3 months of 2010. The release list is phenomenal and even bigger than last year’s autumn with games like God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Heavy Rain.

But even this week there are two excellent titles, one of which quite possibly might be a contender for game of the year 2010. And this is just in the first week!

Read the rest of the post at OnThisIsland

When asked by people why do I game, my usual and simple (easy) answer is because they are fun. Playing videogames however can be a turbulent ride and not always of the fun kind.

A couple of days ago, i got stuck at Super Mario Galaxy and had to repeat the same planet 3-4 times. At some point, right before another imminent death, i yelled at the TV, “PETAKTOU MALAKA!” (JUMP YOU A…….LE). I am not sure if videogames’ most iconic character heard me but he still fell to his inevitable death.

With Battlefield: Bad Company, i kept cursing the developers whenever i had to find a RPG to destroy a tank, whilst watching my Explosives expert squadmate with a rocket launcher on his back, moving around and doing absolutely nothing to help. The “EN PELLOI RE” (THEY ARE CRAZY) screams were probably heard by my neighbours of the floor we share.

Before that i played Demon’s Souls where the recipient of my abuse was actually me. “EIMAI GAROS”, “EN EXW YPOTHESI” (I AM A DONKEY/IDIOT, I DON’T HAVE A CLUE) were some of the insults that crashed my confidence even more alongside the never ending deaths in the game.

This behaviour and sentiment really does go back to my childhood gaming days with games like Syndicate Wars and Cannon Fodder. Abuse, anger, screaming and swearing while playing videogames.

Am i alone in this? What about you? Ever had this experience and if yes why do you keep putting yourself through it?

I’ve been playing Battlefield: Bad Company for the past week or so as it has been a game that i really wanted to try last year but missed the boat. Unfortunately, the single player campaign is extremely disappointing.

I can not get used to the controls and specifically the aiming part. It reminds me of the problems i have with FPS games on the PS3 where due to the sensitivity of the analog stick i find myself constantly making minor changes to aim properly. Bungie, Infinity Ward and so many others have shown us that this is not longer an issue on 360 FPS games.

Then it’s the destructability of objects which is good and bad. Good, because you never feel safe behind a wall or inside a building. Bad, because there is no consistency. You can bomb the hell out of a building but certain parts of it simply do not get destroyed. It loses it’s realistic feel and it’s even more noticeable than if there was no destruction at all.

Also, what is it with this healing system? You can heal yourself with an injection which basically has a meter showing you when you can do it again. It only takes a few seconds to recharge and this means that i am constantly injecting myself. I mean all the time! It feels so ridiculous. Why not simply use a recharging health instead??

Finally, you are in a squad of 4. Actually of 1 soldier (myself) and 3 guys who are just hanging around you shouting all the time. Their AI is horrible with some Naked Gun moments where they are shooting at enemies a meter away with nothing happening. Also one of them is supposed to be the demolitions expert and carries around a rocket launcher. But he never uses it! NEVER! If there is a tank or an armoured vehicle that needs to be taken out I am supposed to go find a RPG and take it out yourself.

As far as the story is concerned it is really irrelevant although i actually like the characters. But it’s a pretty shallow affair overall.

It’s a very boring FPS in fact. I am just going through the motions of finishing. Learn from my mistakes. Stay away!

There is good thread over at the forums of www.cygaming.net (Link) with a healthy discussion going on. I wish there were more discussions like this and also stop beating around the bush. Start naming Cypriot retailers charging exorbitant prices. Apart from the Megaland fiasco i also find Stephanis to have some ridiculous pricing system with games at Euro70 to Euro80 and i am not talking about limited editions.

Also something that all retailers have in common is that they are too late with their sales. They could introduce some deal of the week schemes much like the Game and Play online stores.

The first quarter of 2010 will be one of the busiest for many years. Why you may ask and what does this have to do with this week’s releases? Well, a lot of games publishers have moved the release date of their titles to avoid coinciding with the biggest release of the year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The chances are you have played the first Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward two years ago either in multiplayer or/and single player, so you know what this game is all about. The chances are it’s one of the games you will be picking up this year.

I have not seen any reviews yet on the game, but as the competition this week is pretty weak, there is no doubt that COD:MW2 is game of the week.

Release List

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360, PS3, PC, Wii)
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (360, PS3)
Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage (Wii)
Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn Of The New World (Wii)
Tornado Outbreak (360, Wii, PS3)
Tropico 3 (360)
Speedzone (Wii)