Charging by the Second

So, Street Fighter IV's coming out in a matter of weeks. I've played the arcade version a couple of times, and I am impressed - it takes the feel of classic SFII, and adds elements of Alpha and 3S, and throws it all together in a nice, cohesive system that's both accessible and deep. But I'll be damned if I'm playing it on the 360 pad.

I picked up a Hori EX stick for the 360 a while back, and while it's mostly used for Virtua Fighter 5, it's found new lease of life for SSFIIHDR. I've never been much cope with motion characters on a stick, but years of charge character usage has taught me a few tricks.

Mainly with this guy.

See, Honda's always been one of my backup characters. I love the guy's personality, and became surprsingly adept at using him in Alpha 3, despite him being bottom tier. So I start using him online in HDR, and I realise he's actually damned good. Strong, good specials, and a much-improved super - the changes they've made make it much easier to lock down the fireball-spamming n00bs. Very nice. He has now overtaken Guile as my strongest character, with Deejay making a surprise second.

My limited experience with SFIV Honda has shown me he has some new tricks, too. His EXs are nice, and his EX Ochio Throw is downright nasty - extra range + hit absorption = hurt. His ultra is also great - he can take a beating, so it's pretty easy to build meter, and if someone tries jumping in, it's practically free damage.

On the flipside, the priorities of his normals have been changed - his jumping MK belly doesn't seem as useful, and the range of his Sumo Splat is wanting. Early tier lists have him floating around the lower mid - but that's just where I like my characters. It just means you can't bitch about him being overpowered when you've been hundred-hand slapped down.

Come Feb 20th, you'll know where to find me.

Demo Man

Here's a hint for game developers: If you're going to release a demo of your Next Big Thing, make sure it's actually good enough for people to want to get the full thing. There's nothing worse than spending ages downloading a massive new demo only to find that you might as well have not bothered. Here're a few of the more recent examples:

On the face of it, War World was everything I was looking for. Fast-paced, Unreal-style multiplayer madness, with giant robots - a winning formula in my eyes. But when all you've got to go on is a Trial Version that features one playable mech, a single map and gametype - and a mere 50 seconds with which to get to experience it - you've got something so pointlessly short and restricting that savvy consumers are going to avoid shelling out for the full game just to see if it's actually any better. Worst part is, it's not even that bad a game - but the demo lost me completely.

Going back in time a bit here, but I'm a real sucker for alternate histories, and the concept be hing Turning Point: Fall of Liberty intrigued me. The demo was more than enough to put me off the full game though - it was one of the buggiest and most unpolished games I've ever seen. What did amuse me though, was the fact that the devs, Spark Unlimited, did their utmost to reassure everyone that all the problems would be fixed for the gold versions. Damage had been done, lads.

Beautiful Katamari was another let down. Great concept, wonderful visual style and beautifully realised controls - but less than two minutes to actually play the game. It took longer to boot and load the demo than it did to actually play it. LucasArts saved me £40 on Fracture by putting the bulk of its gimmicks in the first level. Unreal III showed me that the game wouldn't run properly on my PC, and even if it did, I wouldn't like it because it felt too consoley.

It doesn't stop there. Tie-ins that come out long after the actual event has finished, demos that don't actually work (I couldn't download last year's Pro Evo demo, and had to make do with Fifa), demos of peripheral-based games (I don't understand why you'd want to play Guitar Hero without the controller - the guitar is half the fun).

What developers don't seem to realise is that these demos can make or break their game - units are frequently shifted solely on the strength of the demo. I've found a number of little gems that I wouldn't otherwise have bothered with -Skate, Stuntman: Ignition, Mirrors Edge- and this is a habit that goes back to my early days as a PC gamer.

Savvy spenders will always want to try before they buy, and the relatively new luxury of free downloadable trial versions is formidable new power for the console consumer. Those that make the games we play are in for an interesting choice - to release a demo, and allow the public to make their minds up before launch date, or not release a demo at all, and lose the potential sales to those that wouldn't otherwise have given it a second look?

In any case, which is the greater crime - the good demo of the bad game, or the bad demo of the good one?

Achievement Unlocked

I have a confession to make. Whenever I put a new game into my 360, the first thing I do is have a look through the Achievement list. I’ll scroll down the list, see what you have to do to get those Gamerpoints, which are easily obtainable on the first playthrough. It makes me feel dirty and shallow, but when you’re a relatively new 360 owner, being faced with a Friends List full of mighty Gamerscores can make you feel a tad insignificant. So every point counts.

One thing that the Achievement list does tell me, though, is just how much effort the developers have put into them. It doesn’t take long to realise that 95% of all Achievements out there are variations on a theme - complete a level, collect something, get a new high score. Repetition is the key – and it’s boring.

I’m not saying I’m dead against ‘progress’ Achievements – after all, giving the player frequent rewards is a sure fire way to get them to keep playing. However, when the vast majority of Achievements in your game are made up of the sort of thing you’re going to be doing during the game anyway, then they cease to be achievements. Instead, I’d like to see such rewards given a relatively low number of points, and more focus given to the more difficult or obscure activities.

Japanese games are most often guilty of unimaginative rewards, with the average title containing between 5-20 different Achievements based on doing the same thing over and over. This is fine for the Japanese market, where gamers have the mindset for grinding and lengthy unlock processes. Indeed, these are some of the hardest Achievements to get – not necessarily because they’re difficult, but because of the sheer amount of time needed to invest to get them.

Western gamers, though, tend to need something new and shiny to spur them on, and Achievements are the literal carrot on the string for the short of attention span (including myself, I’ll admit). Having a good mix of campaign, collection, and multiplayer Achievements is rare, particularly if you want to give your game an acceptable difficulty curve.

It’s getting on a bit now, but Crackdown is still a good example of Achievements done right. Sure, there are the usual progress ones for going through the game as you normally would, but they’re worth a couple of hundred points, at most. The real meat of the points come from exploration and messing around in the world – the player is actively encouraged to drive into, blow up and jump off stuff in many different ways, and is rewarded accordingly.

Instead of forcing gamers to play in a specific way, or to struggle through the campaign on the hardest difficulty setting, Achievements should be there to encourage them to try new things. More Achievements should be secret – not revealed at all until the player triggers it, otherwise there’s no sense of discovery – of achievement. They should be more than simple checklists for the obsessive-compulsive. And with the PS3 getting its shiny new Trophies any day now, the need for creativity dressing up these carrots has never been stronger.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and hunt some pigeons.

Aces High

I've been a big fan of Namco's Ace Combat series ever since I quite randomly saw a trailer for the fifth entry behind the counter of the Gamestation in Edinburgh. So much so that, when they announced that they were making the sixth one (or rather, seventh) a 360 exclusive, I knew I had found my Killer App. Oh sure, the 360 has a number of games that interested me, but nothing that jumped out and said Must Buy! - but with Ace6, the existing number of interesting games already on the shelf, and many more on the horizon, there was finally enough reason to grit my teeth, pick a side and head into the trenches of Next Gen Format War VII.

It's been a very long time since I've spent so long on a single game that I've unlocked everything (I think the last was the first Guitar Hero), but here was a game that I couldn't put down. I fully planned to sit and play through Mass Effect during my three weeks holiday - and yet, with just a week left, it's still sitting there, sealed. Instead, I've been beavering away at getting all the planes, all the colours, the special gamerpic that unlocks when you finish the game on the hardest difficulty, and all the medals - some of which are utterly insane. Among them, you have to finish the campaign using only the machine gun, get S ranks in all missions on the hardest difficulty, and (my personal favourite for sadism) finish the campaign without taking any damage. But, it's the first game in ages that I've genuinely enjoyed playing through these six/seven/ten times, because no playthough need be the same, thanks to the dynamic mission structure (I'm not going to preach the virtues of this game here; if you're interested, go read one of the many reviews online, or try the demo on Live).

It's not perfect, though, and there are a great many things I'd like to see done differently in the inevitable Ace7, particularly around multiplayer. For one, include more than two co-op multiplayer missions! While the missions in question are tremendous fun, even with complete strangers, there's no question in my mind that this is one area that Project Aces really could have expanded on. No doubt we'll see DLC in future, but as it stands, it's just laziness. Likewise, the Vs modes (particularly Team Battle) are immense fun, especially with a full 16-players going at it - but problems arise in not only finding a game, but waiting until enough players have joined. The interface is cumbersome, hosts can't change settings after setting up a match, and the online Achievements are utterly insane (win each mode 200 times!).

I'd be interested in seeing just how many people are still playing this in six months time, but as it stands, it's not bad for a first attempt. Let's just hope Project Aces take a few things on board when making Ace Combat 7. When I'll have to get a PS3.

Fallin' through a hole in the sky

Portal. If you haven't heard about it, you can't consider yourself a gamer. It's part of Valves' Orange Box, and although it's shortest of the plethora of games on offer here (just beating out Episode 1, because you have to actually stop and think), it's far and away my favourite. Oh sure, Episode 2 is a great single-player experience, but it's more of the same - nothing new is brought to the table. Team Fortress 2 is deliriously fun multiplayer action, and looks and plays fantastically - but it's also just a slightly different take on an existing formula, simplified a bit (undoubtably to make it more accesible for the console gamers).

On the other hand, Portal takes a relatively original idea of allowing the player to create two portals in walls and floors -an entrance and an exit- and pass between them, and creates a number of fiendish puzzles and mind-bending connundrums around it. Although the idea was first explored in the freeware Narbacular Drop, Portal takes it, runs past several defenders, nutmegs the goalie and scores a stunner.

It's superb. The level design is excellent, the puzzles slowly become more and more complex. It has a great atmosphere that mixes the uncertainty of blindly following orders from a disembodied computerised voice for the promise of cake, and the feeling of utter isolation and helplessness. There's no combat in the game, and you can't directly deal with the gun turrets you come across - you've got to figure out a way past them, or somehow deactivate them.

In short, this is the best lateral-thinking puzzle game I've played since Crush (why, oh why did you people not buy it?). Although it's a touch short (clocking in at under 4 hours - I would have liked to have seen an additional 5-10 levels), the Advanced versions and Challenge modes that become available go some way to extending the life of the game - and believe me, you'll be sitting scratching your head at them for a while.

I can't wait for the 3rd party levels - I'm rather looking forward to seeing what new challenges the modding community can come up with.

Street Fighting Again

The other week we had a Street Fighter tournament thing around my place for some mates. The game was 3rd Strike, despite the fact that no-one likes it or properly plays it any more. Nevertheless, we had some damned good matches and a few surprises to make things interesting. We're currently in the middle of getting a site up with match vids and stuff, but in the meantime, here're some of the highlights.

Qualifier 1 - Jide (Ryu) Vs Shiv (Makoto)

Things kicked off in epic style, as both guys went pulled out all the stops against each other. We saw some good tactics, impressive combos and generally solid play all round. Each match was fiercely contested, going all the way to the last round, but in the end, it was Jide scraped the victory and went through.

Qualifier 2 - Haggis (Remy) Vs Deep (Dudley/Urien)

Haggis was thought to be doomed from the off - 'Mr Deep Thongman' is one of the most feared Urien players around. In a surprise move though, he picked Dudley for his first match. Unfortunately, Haggis has plenty of experience against the English boxer - he was kept at bay and whittled down by the tried and tested Remy play. Deep got serious for the second round though and pulled out the big guns - and it all snowballed from there. Haggis put up a fight, but ultimately couldn't stop the 'Thongs of Rage'.

Loser's Final - Jide (Ryu) Vs Dan (Ken)

Despite having not played the game in months, it didn't take Dan long to re-find his old rhythm, and he comfortably worked his way into the semis. At the same time, Jide narrowly missed out on the final due to the power of the Thongs. Again, both sides put up a very good fight, but in the end it was Dan that secured 3rd place.


The Final Results:

1st - Ali
2nd - Deep
3rd - Dan
4th - Jide
5th - Shiv
6th - Haggis (w00t)
Joint 8th cos they didn't take a single round - Shaun & Marlon


Thanks to everyone that came, I hope you all had as much fun as I did. We'll be doing another one in the near future, but this time with a different game. What'll it be? No-one knows!

Random thought of the Day

It suddenly occurs to me, that moving into a house with four other like-minded game/anime geeks may not have been the smartest of moves ever. Especially once we got the interweb hooked up. Anythin remotely resembling the productivity I may once have had has been shot to hell.

If I'm not playing something or watching something with the guys, I'm playing or watching something I've got off someone. I usually don't hit the sack until at least 5am. It's madness!

And yet I love it, and I get away with it cos I don't have to start work till 3.

Insert Fonz noise here :)