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!