Consolation Prize

I took the plunge this weekend to update Consolation Prize to the latest version of Wordpress. I got fed up of the dashboard telling me that it was out of date and decided it was time to run the upgrade gauntlet. Apart from a few scares - for a time I couldn’t log into the site - we’re now back up and running and I’m not aware of any issues after testing all the various aspects of the site.

Hopefully downtime was kept to a minimum, but at least I can now return to the important business of completing Braid and Half Life 2: Episode 2.

I am considering updating the template and layout of the site, and I would especially like a new blog header (grey is a bit.. well… grey and boring) but I’m afraid my logo design skills are frankly quite poor. If anyone knows of any freelance designers out there then be sure to let me know!

Braid is a stunningly beautiful game to behold. A fact evident from the moment it starts when you realise the first screen you see - a gorgeous backdrop with vibrant reds and oranges casting other objects into shadow - is actually not a menu screen at all but part of the game itself.

Best described as a a puzzle-platformer this adventure revolves around a character called Tim. Slowly the story unfolds via little snippets of text displayed as our hero passes past books placed upon pedestals at the beginning of each game world and it gives us the impression he’s looking for redemption. You see our hero is on a quest to make up for past misdemeanors as he tries to locate a princess with whom, as the story alludes to, he once shared a relationship but has now been snatched away by an evil monster.

The game starts out straightforward enough as the main character jumps and wanders around the levels collecting jigsaw pieces in order to complete a picture puzzle depicting an event that occurred at some point during Tim’s life. It soon becomes clear however that some lateral thinking needs to be employed to retrieve some of the missing pieces of the puzzle, which appear just out of reach, and this requires the player to start manipulating the creatures and the environment around them.

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Small alarm bells start ringing in my head when demo’s are released onto Xbox Live Marketplace after a game has already been released. The cynic in me wonders what the publishers are trying to hide and if it’s just an exercise in damage limitation so the game is at least guaranteed some sales before word gets out that it isn’t as good as the developer diaries and the previews showcased. However after playing through the available chapters in the Alone on the Dark demo the game wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.

The demo starts off impressively as the player partakes in an interactive cut scene whilst the character of Edward Carnby lies half unconscious on a bed unable to move but able to see and hear, and occasionally having to blink to stop his vision from becoming blurred. Eventually you’re led off to be taken “care of” by one of your unknown captors giving rise to your release from captivity once your escort falls foul of some unseen assailant and leaves you to free explore your surroundings.

Alone in the Dark has some good production values and the cut scenes shown throughout the demo have a very cinematic feel about them. Graphically it looks decent enough, the main character model is fine, if a little woodenly animated, but the environments all look great and the fire effects as the flames flicker and dance across flammable surfaces are excellent. Speaking of which, fire seems to be an integral game mechanic. Used not only as a hazard to impede your progress but it can also be turned to your advantage; Furniture can be used to create torches lighting darkened rooms, locked doors can be burnt down, but most importantly fire is the Achilles heel of the inhuman denizens of the game.

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I finally managed to make it through Half Life 2: Episode One. Not unscathed however, there were plenty of close encounters where Gordon Freeman flirted with death, and he even visited the pearly gates once or twice (or was it nine or ten times) before the episode concluded.

Episode One is a direct continuation of the events that occurred at the finale of Half Life 2. Beginning immediately after the destruction of the Citadel reactor in City 17 Gordon awakes in the pitch black only to discover he’s buried beneath rubble from the explosion. Fortunately he’s excavated from his stony grave by Alyx Vance’s pet robot Dog and is soon reunited with his companion. The subsequent story centres on Gordon and Alyx’s attempts to escape City 17 before the reactor goes into meltdown and completely destroys the city.

Although in certain chapters of Half Life 2 there were some cooperative aspects, Episode One takes the principle much further and really focuses on the interplay and cooperation between Gordon and Alyx. When playing the game it’s obvious that the level designers at Valve have taken the “cooperative play” mandate very seriously and each level has been considerately planned to help promote the idea. Alyx is not just a pretty face, she is there to help out when required; hinting at possible puzzle solutions, warning the player of imminent danger, and providing well needed firepower when things start to get a bit hectic. The actual cooperative play between the two protagonists works beautifully and it’s easy to forget at times that Alyx is an AI construct.

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It’s been a bit quiet on the demo front on Xbox Live Marketplace recently but some playable titles have started to trickle onto the service once more. One which I thought looked quite interesting was Facebreaker, a tongue in cheek fighting game from Fight Night developers EA Canada.

Whereas with most fighting games character move-sets can number into the hundreds, Facebreaker instead employs a more streamlined approach to the art of pugilism ensuring you don’t have to memorise unfeasibly long move combinations. In fact only a few types of attacks are used, low and high punches are mapped to the “A” and “X” buttons respectively which can be strung together with “breakers” (using the “Y” button) to unleash more devastating attacks. In addition the triggers are used to alter your characters stance between blocking and dodging, and when used in combination with the punch buttons, and with the correct timing, allow you to parry and counter punch quite easily before going on the offensive.

As the name of the game suggest the aim is simply to beat your opponent to a pulp. The game promotes an aggressive strategy as each successful hit fills the “breaker” gauge which when full allows the player to perform a, you guessed it, “facebreaker” which enacts a brutal finishing move on the opponent. Thankfully because of the cartoon style of the game this isn’t a gruesome experience, and in actuality is more like the stylised violence you’d expect to see in a “Tom & Jerry” cartoon.

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I’ve got so many games waiting to be played at present, and I’m afraid I’ve fallen back into my bad habit of purchasing games before I’m ready to play them. Once again there’s a back catalogue of relatively new titles waiting for some love and attention once freed from there shrink wrapping.

Even with lots of great titles such as Okami (Wii) and Civilization Revolution (X360) waiting in the wings I was considering returning to some older games that have been left in limbo. And it then it struck me; I never finished The Orange Box. As incomprehensible as it may sound once the amazing adventure of Half Life 2 was complete, and the joys of Portal plundered, I needed to take a sabbatical from Gordon Freeman and the Combine and thus moved onto pastures new. I always intended to return to the game in what would have been a few weeks, I didn’t however expect it to take 8 months. So it’s time again to don the HEV suit and find out how the story progresses in Half Life 2: Episode One after the cliff-hanger ending of its predecessor.

[Minor spoilers ahead]

What I believe Half-Life 2 successfully exemplifies is its unusual approach to story-telling. Told via the first person perspective what you see and hear is exactly what Gordon perceives. There are no cut-scenes to disassociate you from the game avatar, you ARE Gordon Freeman. This approach, when in the capable hands of Valve, is no less of a cinematic experience than say the cut scenes found in Grand Theft Auto IV, but its main advantage is that it keeps the player fully immersed. Being thrown across a chasm into the citadel inside a wrecked mini-van by the robotic DOG from a first person perspective is just as exhilarating, if not more so, than if it was shown via a non-interactive cut-scene.

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With the release of firmware v2.0 we can now start using our beloved iPhones (or iTouch) as mobile gaming platforms in addition to our Nintendo DS’s and Sony PSP’s. There is already a decent selection of games available for the device ready to download from the “App Store” and most of them are reasonably priced.

So, in the name of “research” I thought I’d download a couple of games to sample the validity of the iPhone as a long term gaming platform.

ZEN Pinball: Roller Coaster

Shooting out from the development house that brought Pinball FX to Xbox Live Arcade this little Pinball game is the first to appear on the iPhone. The game only features one table, based upon the idea of a theme park and features a good mix of buffers, ramps, targets and challenges to test your skills. The actual table looks okay, it’s bright and colourful, with plenty of flashing lights, and because it’s a 3D model you’re can tilt and rotate the iPhone to change the viewpoint.

As it’s a touch-screen device the controls are simple, just tap on the bottom left or right of the screen for the respective flipper control. In reality this generally means you’re going to hold the iPhone cupped between two hands using your thumbs to activate the flippers.

My main concern with ZEN Pinball: Roller Coaster however is the response speed, or the sometimes apparent delay of the flippers. On numerous occasions I was left with flippers that just didn’t “flip”, resulting in the loss of a ball. In other instances the flippers would “stick”, just as if I had left my thumb pressed down. As pinball is based upon your reactions to have them further compromised by sometimes unresponsive controls is very frustrating.

ZEN Pinball: Roller Coaster is available for 2.99 GBP and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it if not for the flipper delay. The problem isn’t bad enough to ruin the game, but it can be detrimental to your enjoyment.

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Well the major three players Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have all had there time in the limelight at the E3 show to shovel there wares and bamboozle you with statistics and claims but what really stood out at there respective conferences? The short answer was not a great deal. There were a few surprises, but on the whole there wasn’t a great deal that left me gob smacked and speechless. The following however, are my personal highlights from E3.

Microsoft NXE Dashboard

It was rumoured for a while that Microsoft were working on the introduction of Avatars into Xbox Live and as expected the “New Xbox Experience” (NXE) was unveiled which completely overhauls the Xbox dashboard. Removing all traces of the “blades” that have been a staple part of the dashboard since the 360 was born, the new lick of paint looks like the bastard child offspring should “iTunes” and “Mii’s” ever make sweet whoopee. Although the Avatars themselves are obviously a nod towards the more casual gamer and clearly influenced by Nintendo’s success I’m all for reinvigorating the whole Xbox 360 user interface. It’s hard to imagine how the existing dashboard could be enhanced further so it’s definitely time for a change.

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