The Big Change

In the old days of gaming as in about 8 years ago, the summer in the industry was dominated by one thing. Not games, but E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, created by the ESA (Electronic Software Association). Over the years the event run, it got bigger and bigger with more fanboys than actual journalists seeing what they wanted to see. Magazines were weighed down with everything E3, from the build up, the actual event itself and the awards given afterwards.

Now, beside the dispute that certain jouno's enjoyed meeting the booth babes 'too much', E3 allowed all members of the ESA (yes members, for those that don't know companies have to pay to join the ESA) to showcase and demo their new projects and make all those announcements they were holding back till they enough of a hype.

However, a different trait has become prevalent, with developers and companies generally holding slightly smaller, but more focused events at their own venue. Commonly called 'Gamer Days' or 'Ubidays' if you're one company that just love to be different. These often allow developers to showcase all their new releases in a larger un-constricted environment. This was beginning to be the case at the new re-structured E3, which as well as having the traditional large hanger area, had developers in smaller hotel rooms, where they could show their games to journalists easier than the hanger.

Obviously, the old E3, which was basically filled with sweaty fanboys needed to change,  but it seems that the ESA has lost the support of a lot of the industry. Activision (the worlds largest publisher) recently announced it was pulling out of the ESA thus E3, with smaller developers such as Lucasarts following suits. This is quite worrying for the ESA, who are funded by these companies, amongst other things. It appears to be to do with a dispute with the president of the ESA, Mike Gallagher, basically over his leadership and decisions.

From an outsider, it appears a large shift in the industry is occurring, and as the large publishers get larger and the small ones vanish, its only a matter of time before associations are simply not needed.

Ah Nostalgia…

(Due to various internet connection based issues I've been having, this is a older blog post from another Next Level blog)

I recently was having a very slow and quite boring weekend, so thought it was about time I went back and replayed ‘Legend of Zelda The Ocarina of Time’ for what must be about the 4^th time now. But seeing as it was also a lazy weekend, I didn’t unpack the old N64, but played it off my special edition disc that came with the Wind Waker (not to be confused with the collectors edition disc that had the Majora’s Mask on that’s different, but does have the OoT on it) for the Gamecube. I contemplated having another go at the master quest, an unreleased version of the game with much more confusing puzzles and more difficult enemies. But I wanted the purest version of the game, without getting the cartridge, so went for the original.

I always have a problem with going back and playing games that I loved years ago. Sometimes it’s the feeling of ‘I wish I could feel the same way about it as I did when I first played it’. That feeling of ‘Wow’ and the curiosity that went with playing games for the first time, especially with the LoZ series. Sometimes though, I look back through rose tinted specs and my imagination makes a far better game than the developers did (I swore that the graphics were better etc). I was braced for my latest play through of the game to ruin it for me. I was surprised.

OoT holds up remarkably well, remembering it was released around 1997. The graphics and colours are filled with life and it still has the enchanting musical score that I remember. Sure the text based narrative gets a bit weary at times, especially with the voice acting common in even bargain basement games now, but it doesn’t really matter when the actual story is as well explained as it is.

Recently I have had trouble sticking with story driven games, especially Final Fantasy XII. As good as that game is, I could almost sense every twist and turn that was going to happen and unlike its predecessors, I never felt really encouraged to find out what would happen next. But somehow, I still find OoT has a story that makes me want to keep going. This might be because the series has never focused on developing characters throughout the story, but leaves that side of the story to you. You’re a little lad in a green tunic off to save Hyrule for a Princess and the game encourages you to think of the people as though you really know them, not by forcing a distinctive personality into them. Obviously there’s much more than that, but the story takes a look at the world as a whole, and you never feel like your just trying to get to Link’s personal aims, but to save the world.

So this got me thinking. Why has a game which is highly regarded amongst gamers as one of, if not the, greatest game made so far, stayed so young in character. Maybe, I thought it was because Nintendo has kept the formula rigidly the same in some aspects and different in others. The text for example is still there, and the little yelps made by Link still exist. But many different environments and characters are introduced keeping the general re telling of the same story fresh.

Or it could have been that this was the first game to really capture a sense of scale and adventure, in epic 3D. Sure Super Mario 64 was a great game, but you realised that you were a little Italian plumber in a blue dungarees. OoT simply looses you in all its secrets and curious people to the extent that you can play the games for hours on end and still go back for more (I was hooked for weeks on the fishing mini game). The game also has points of emotion, beautifully conveyed and reflects the almost naivety of the player, including this almost hidden scene (slight spoiler warning and the music isn’t from the game) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6XMKtjtvaM . The dungeons were expansive and challenging and without going on for hours, the game is brilliant.

So I’ve just completed Dodongo’s Cave and will keep picking it up and playing a bit more when I get chance. In the meanwhile I’m still looking for where I can find a copy of LoZ The Twilight Princess for Gamecube. At least now I can go and play some old games without being scared into them being rubbish compared to what I remember…

Is what you read what you get?

I recently read quite an interesting column over at Edge(or Next Gen). Games journalist N'Gai Croal wrote about how previewers of games often fill in the gaps of what they think will be in the final version. Many of them often have to try and be as positive as possible, even if the game has a very low standard and is basically unplayable, journalists are told by their managers to ensure they get a review or another preview copy, hence be positive. But is that really giving readers an insight into the game, or simply buying into the hype machine.

Look at Haze. Yeah, the shoddy unpolished graphics may hurt your eyes and crude AI may drive you insane, but none of this was mentioned in the preview versions. From that, it was going to be the perfect game, and having seen videos and articles about it, I believed it would be a good game. Nevermind then. So which would readers prefer, to be told a game ain't looking good before hand during a preview or to be told that the game is going to turn out fine.

For this blog, obviously as we ain't  journalist's or anything near it, I don't see preview copies, or review copies, or most of the time, any copies. My personal process of writing about games, if previewing them for example, is to attempt to gather as much information as possible from the largest variety of websites I can, read through it, look a videos etc and try and build up a image of what the game is like, hence why I refuse to attempt to 'review' a game. It's therefore difficult for me to actually contextualise and look objectively at games, but many blogs are now starting to be given preview builds of games, leading them to simply say what they see.

Honesty appears to be a an important aspect of the gaming community, one which is failing fast. So many games are now being hyped up to be better than they are, (Matt recently blogged about one such situation) then it has a knock on effect on the industry as a whole. It's becoming the trend for developers to have journalists to play through games in the developers HQ, so they can give feedback on the good and bad parts of it. This doesn't seem to be happening in the previews, which means some developers do not bother making changes to the game or upping the standard as the previewers seem to believe 'It's all fine'.

So should the process be changed. As mentioned earlier, yes. Previewers all do a good job, they allow fans of a series to gain the next bit of knowledge, allow readers to generally get a interest in the games, but overall being forced to bow down to the more corporate side of the industry. I listened to a podcast a while back, where some journalists were talking about how they were not being given games by a well known publisher simply for writing some less than complementary comments about their new release. With attitudes like that with some developers, it's understandable when previewers 'play nice'.

More addictive than cigarettes and wine gums...

Casual gaming is a funny old thing. In fact its got to the point where it don't feel right calling it such, what with it being spread as far as McDonalds across the world. Everyone and their gran have had some experience on these games. Some are simply cheap and cheerful flash games, whilst others are quite large projects, developed by a small team for a large publisher.

Some of these find their way onto the Xbox Live Arcade or Playstation Store, whilst many are just found scattered around the internet in various shapes and sizes. the biggest developer of these casual games is 'PopCap' who either make new, sleeker versions of online puzzle games or take some idea dreamed up after a pretty crazy party and add it into a game.

The reason I've brought these games up is because I spent all morning playing Peggle, again. I got attached to Peggle (for lack of a better term) earlier this year after downloading a free version based on Half Life (free for nVidia graphics card owners off Steam).After playing through that, I played a online trial version, then had to get the full 'Peggle Deluxe' and complete that.

What it is about it, I don't know. Is it that the sound effects trigger something in your mind that goes 'Must...play...more', the same way a slot machine makes you put some more money in. I mean, what makes me keep playing a game (for those unaffected) bounce a little ball of multicoloured pegs, attempting to get all the orange ones and the highest score. It has no real achievement once you get to the end, you get a little trophy and then you go and do ridiculous challenges that will drive you to the edge of insanity.

You know you've played any game too long when you're reading the paper and begin to imagine bouncing a ball off the print. Now i obviously understand why Jack Thompson believes GTA is responsible for crimes, he's played Peggle. Popcap offer a variety of other games some more intelligent and mind bending than others, from Bejeweled 2 to Bookworm.

Peggle is also being developed for the DS, which should prove great on bus jouney's with the constant binging and bonging. It's also avaliable on iPod, as well as many other games, which explains what Popcap are trying to do. Once we are surrounded by their addictive casual games, we will have no need for other consoles, for any other games. PC's will become know as 'PopCap Portals' where we download games directly into our mind. Those crazy little critter characters in Peggle are there for a reason, who would refuse to do what 'Jimmy Lightning', a chipmunk who says 'Toasty!' alot, if he asked u to take over the world....

Looks like they already have one person....

The Next Level Update 23/05/08

Hello again, and its time again for the look at the informative, interesting, mad and downright random news stories we have noticed over the week.

As predictable as FIFA 09...

Bioshock, the critically acclaimed shooter from Take Two has made the predictable jump to the PS3. Following in the footsteps of Lost Planet and Rainbow Six: Vegas (1), the PS3 is getting used to having 'older' games from the 360 being ported over. Bioshock has made the jump in a relatively short period, after being released at the end of last year. My view on this is that the developers are not saying 'Yeah, we'll release on both consoles simultaneously simply because they know they can't code as fast (or couldn't) for the PS3, and would end up delaying the game for both systems, and for a company as on the edge financially as Take Two would not of wanted that. But hey, so long as it hits the consoles and allows as many gamers to experience good games as possible, the wait is not a problem

Fetch the Popcorn

Onto more PS3 news, coming soon is the supposed (or not, as it was recently revealed) final instalment of the Metal Gear Solid series. MGS has always been known for having very long cutscenes with some in MGS2 reaching around 30 min's, but, at recent reviewer has said that a cutscenes in MGS4 is over 90 minutes long....that's 1 and a half hours...that's a average feature length movie. It's been advised that you watch it, as not only does it fill in a lot of the story, but actually contains some of the greatest CGI in a game ever. Well the game got 10/10, so it must be 'alright'...

Dead...Haha, ROFL, LMAO

Valve, the developers of Half Life and the steam distribution service, have had a good old chuckle at the expense of the PC doubters, who have claimed the PC as a gaming machine is dead, killed by piracy and system specs.

'If you look properly you'll find that PC game sales are even, if not bigger, than all of the next-Gen consoles'

(Doug Lombardi, courtesy of CVG)

He explained to Shack news that they just laugh at it and they have been really successful from PC games and now have multiple projects going, with Steam growing and growing. At the moment it's coming from both sides, with people trying different methods, abandoning the PC altogether or simply soldiering on with it, I like the PC as a platform, but it's sure a struggle to keep up the system specs, hence, games going on to consoles.

The Big Summer Drought

Nope, we ain't all of a sudden running out of water, but this is traditionally the period of the year where very few big games are released. Developers seem to be believe (something the tabloids seriously don't) that during summer, everyone runs outside and indulges in polite games of cricket etc etc.

This is a load of rubbish obviously, we're all obese, unhealthy slobs and would much prefer to spend our days becoming pale and potato shaped. Summers generally turn into a world of mediocre releases, seemingly made in the developers spare time, or ports of older games onto a different system. Many of these being rushed and lazily put together.

It seems that the only games which are released around this period are those which have been delayed from the congested Christmas period (just think about how crowded it would of been with both MGS4 and GTAIV being released then). I found that last year, there were not too many games, but too many for me too afford and play. I found I could not devote enough time to every game. I enjoyed Assassins Creed, until it dissolved into a guide of how to repeat the same action 14 times, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune was fun, but linear and a tad frustrating at times, COD 4 was well...COD4 basically and Ratchet and Clank: Tools Of Destruction, was a fun blast.

But that still left quite a few games for me to play, hence me having to rush buy about 4 games after Christmas. I would prefer games to be spread out a lot more over the year, as they ain't cheap, especially in the UK. It's slightly better this year, with MGS4 just round the corner and it doesn't seem quite so congested. At least we get to look forward to a summer of confrences including another version of E3, which will eventually end up just like the old one anyway!

Anyway, as a more personal message, my fellow blogger is vanishing on holiday this week, so I can't guarantee that content will be put online as regular as we would like, on that note, anybody who feels they fit the role we outlined in the first post, contact me as soon as possible for a chance to be part of The Next Level Team.

Free Radical, what have you done!

I don't know whether to be surprised or shocked at the general news rolling in about Free Radical's new post modern shooter 'Haze'. Originally, the game appeared to be a very promising interesting shooter, with a interesting story, characters and generally, looked like an advancement on one of the PS3's first FPS's Resistance: Fall of Man. That was a while ago though.

It go delayed, which doesn't always mean bad news, but tends to tell you that the developer is having some issues with the hardware. After being told it was definitely a PS3 exclusive, we just believed it was the typical PS3 teething problems. After all, Free Radical Design are good developers, they made the Timesplitters series (after leaving Rare, hence most of the developers working on a certain game called 'Goldeneye') and appeared to understand FPS....Obviously not.

Haze, for those that don't know, follows basically a soldier working for a PMC (Private Military Company) called Mantel, who use a drug called nectar to heighten their senses and make them better soldiers, but overdosing kind of sends the person crazy. Now to give you a not so massive spoiler, less than half way through the game, you switch sides and start working for the 'terrorist cell' called Promise Hand, who exploit the weaknesses of this drug etc etc.

Now whilst Timesplitters 3 was published by EA, this one was done by Ubisoft, and boy was it hyped, which has kind of led to its downfall. I am not going to comment on the game itself, as this ain't a review, and I have not played the full game, but the demo let me down massively. AI was shoddy, graphics were more suited to the original Xbox than a next Gen platform, and some of the rubbish that spurted out of the mouths. Any excuse to shout macho idiotic comments that the Mantel soldier have, they will shout, like Nectar Tourettes or something similar.

"Its like taking candy from a crippled baby"
(a Mantel soldier)

Tactful ain't it. The game appears to be trying to show the effect of drugs, and the effect of propaganda etc in a modern day/future world. Which could work fine, if the game wasn't simply a 'tick the first person shooter requirements sheet to make the developers happy' game. Now I recommend always not looking at individual review to get the general feel of a game, but to use a website like Metacritic to see the overall score. Most of them have been average, with one of the harshest (or not) scores being given by IGN, a 4.5, which appears to upset Free Radical.

Whatever happens to Haze, it appears Free Radical will come out it with a slightly tarnished reputation and made it clear that they can't yet develop well on the PS3. Hopefully, a Timesplitters 4 won't be like this at all...

Get 'Gaming' with AMD

It took until my first PC got really outdated for me to realise why people preferred playing games on consoles. My arguments were that 'I can play loads of different games on my PC' and 'The graphics are much crisper' etc etc. Now these are valid, apart from when you get slightly, behind the times. The first experience I had was when attempt to install Knights of the Old Republic on it. 'Why isn't it working?' then discovering my PC was greatly behind what it needed to be.

At that point, my PC gaming wavered massively and I began to look on in envy at those people who could play 'The Sims 2' on full graphics settings, and to this day, I still ain't properly played KoTOR, much to my dismay. At the time, PCs were beginning to lose their appeal as a gaming machine, compared to the early 90s, mainly down to the success of the PS1 and 2. Although the general quality of PC games was always above consoles, developers found it increasingly easier to port PC games onto their console counterparts.

Then, apart from the ever improving hardware out pacing consumers, the increasing costs of making games began to take their toll. For consoles, it was much more difficult to copy games and play them, requiring consoles to be chipped etc, but with the advent of broadband etc, the use of torrents shot up, and it got to the point where almost any game you could think of for PC, as well as movies, music etc, could be downloaded and run without you spending a thing.

PC developers couldn't compete with console ones anymore, as they simply began to lose so much money, projects that were destined for greatness either ended up on consoles or as a steaming pile of dung. This is still going on, but with developers such as EA and 'Battlefield Heroes' attempting to pay for games depending on people playing them and Valve using Steam and attempting to protect developers from pirates.

Now on the hardware side, its still going faster than ever, but now AMD have released 'AMD Game!' a program that attempts to make it easier for people to judge what spec etc their system is running at, and hence the games for it. It designed for more mainstream gamers, to educate them. The program has already had a lot of support from hardware makers and retailers. With around 80% of PCs being sold every day not capable of playing games, this program attempts to label those capable as being capable, making them also classed as consoles rather than PCs.

At the moment, it is still all geared towards AMD and ATI hardware, simply because 'If hardware was involved that we did not have control over, it would be out of control' (Brent Barry, AMD gaming strategist). At the moment, it seems that overall to be labelled either AMD Game! or AMD Game! Ultra, the PCs must meet a required standard, of quite a high spec.

Overall, I believe this is a step in the right direction to try and revive PC gaming, as it will allow people, who are not hardcore gamers, to have some idea of the capability of their system, if it also links up with game developers and publishers, it could become as simply as buying for a console.

Why you shouldn't make promises you cant keep

It is undeniable that the Wii's graphics, compared to the 360 and PS3, are not the best. Sure, compared to last gen they might be good, but they do not hold up to graphical punch provided by the other two. Everyone accepts this fact, even Nintendo, because everyone knows that they Wii is all about the controls and having fun.

There are some people, though, who feel that the Wii can match the 360. I talk, of course, of High Voltage the developer behind 'Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude'

Speaking last year, High Voltage CEO Kerry Ganofsky said:

"Most of the games on the Wii look like crap. We want to change that, so we've invested heavily in our Wii tech over the past year. Of course [Wii owners] care about gameplay, but we believe if given the choice, they would want great graphics as well. It's just a cop out. With Conduit, we are trying to make a Wii game that looks like a 360 title."

Sorry, a Wii game that looks like a 360 title ? A Wii game who's graphics could match that of Gears Of War? Are you insane Kerry? The answer is yes.

Watch this tech demo: (or click here to view high quality version)

Quite honestly at no point did I think 'Wow, this looks like a 360 game'. What I actually though was 'Wow, this looks like a PS2game'. Sure there are some nice looking light and water effects and sure the guy says things about graphics that no-one understands but these graphics are unimpressive at most.

Normally I wouldn't even be that bothered, but if it wasn't for the developers big headed-ness then I wouldn't have to be quite so harsh on the graphics.

Did I mention that I think the graphics are a blurry, low-res, jaggy, ugly, brown mess. I should also point out that the fire is one of the worst fire effects I have seen in a long time.

However, after watching the actual game trailer, I will say this: It looks comparable to some parts of Half Life 2 (a 4 year old game, remember), except that it's lower res.

Sure this game looks better than the average Wii game, but personally I prefer the bright, colourful graphics in Super Mario Galaxy to the dull, brown graphics in The Conduit.

Finally just a word of advice to other developers out there: Don't make promises you cant keep, because when you fail to deliver we wont have any sympathy for you.

The Next Level Update 19/05/2008

A tad late, mainly because of all the other stuff that appeared over the weekend, but here again is a list of stuff that caught our eye(s)!

Gamespot Pwned

Well, not really, but their parent company Cnet have had all outstanding shares etc bought by CBS (an American broadcasting network) in a deal worth about $1.8 million dollars. This is for all parts of Cnet, including mp3.com and TV.com, as well as GS and Cnet's own site. Whether they are aware of the fact or not, Gamespot, although quite popular still, suffered greatly, as did peoples view of Cnet management, with the sacking of Jeff Gerstmann. We'll wait and see what this deal does to the websites, but personally I don't think as outside users, we'll see any major changes to the sites, perhaps some more editorial staff need hiring, as GS's content is not coming as quick as it used to.

PS3 is 'for Teens'

In a global youth survey done by the folks at Habbo (that virtual hotel/hangout/rip off thing), it was discovered that the PS3 is for teens. In a report in which 58,486 aged 11-18 across the planet were asked about their choice and views on game consoles, 69% chose the PS3 as 'great' or 'good, which was then followed by the Wii and Xbox 360 at 64% and 58%....quite a variation then....More surprisingly, the PS3 beat the Wii in every age category apart 11-12, where the Wii won, and that overall, (time for another massive surprise.....) the Wii was the most popular console for females, I'm not surprised when you see some of the testosterone fuelled games they release on the other consoles, who look like they were designed by coders who have a thing for 'big polygons'. The survey showed that although the 360 is far less popular in Europe and Asia, it's much better in the states (wow again...) with it being the console of choice in Mexico and Columbia, probably all playing GRAW 1+2 and going for a sightseeing tour round their country. And the good old fashioned gender split is lads like the PS3, girls like the Wii.

Squeezing it out...

The war between MS and Sony continues, this battle centering around Microsoft's unlikely ally, the Wii. Aaron Greenburg, Xbox group product manager has claimed that although the PS3 and Wii are enjoying current gen success, on par with the 360 if anything, that the PS3 is getting 'squeezed out' by the 360 and Wii. Greenburg has obviously been in fighting talk lately, what with him bashing Sony last week for their treatment of consumers and now has decided to like Nintendo, though I doubt it will last too long. He has said that:

"What you're seeing ... is two platforms are having tremendous success,"

"Xbox 360 has hit 10 million units, the Wii is now getting close to that milestone, whereas the PS3 seems to be a bit stalled, and what you're finding is that there are two platforms that are performing very well, going after two uniquely different types of consumers, while the PS3 really seems like it's getting squeezed out"

(Quotes from Next-gen)

Probably because of the NPD report of the 360 being the first to reach 10 million units, this fighting talk is set to continue. Hopefully it shouldn't turn into a full blown battle, if Sony can keep their mouths shut for a bit....wait a minute...never mind then.

Other Stuff

No 360mote

Shane Kim has refused to acknowledge the existence of 360 motion controller. As well as giving the good old 'We don't comment on speculation and rumour', he also said that he has never heard about it and that there are a lot of third parties attempting to copy the Wii. But he could be playing dumb, so we'll see.

Wii Tops 6 million in Japan

Its official, now 4% of all the Japanese population own a Wii, which compared to the PS2, which has sold 20million...but has been out eight years. Also around 2 million of them have gone and bought Wii fit, and people seem to buying Mario Kart Wii games for the hell of it.

And Finally- Uwe Boll...let me at it..

'Because my movies are bloody and violent, I think I would be the right guy to do it'...Uwe Boll's reason for letting him get his hands on the GTA franchise. He believes that they will end up making a PG-13 film for $150 million, rather than a 'very hard, very brutal movie without comprimising'....can we add 'very crap' onto that list?

GTA IV Podcast Special

As promised, here is our podcast dedicated entirely to perhaps the biggest game ever, GTA IV.

Either click play on the embedded player, or download the file here (Right click and select 'Save As...')

2008 Xbox 360 Spring Showcase: Part 2

OK, now to go over some of the other major games that were shown off during the recent Spring Showcase.

Ahh Banjo Kazooie. It brings back fond memories for various reasons. The original was one of the best games on the N64, with brilliant graphics if you were prepared to look past the blocky textures. You played a bear and his birdy mate who lived in his backpack. As strange of the premise sounds, the unique environments and characters shone through as a outstanding platformer.

Now, after it's developer Rare were bought by Microsoft and it went a bit quiet. But Rare have now showed off the new Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and bolts, and it has taken a different approach to the previous two games. First off, its clear why they have not called this Banjo Kazooie: 3. The main focus is still platforming, but now with vehicles as well. You are given a toolbox of toys in order to make your vehicles and they can be customised massively, with a large part of the game coming from designing your vehicle to be the right machine for the job. This playground of physics is really suited to just basically, messing about.

The games main overworld, Showdown town, incorporates more of the traditional platforming elements seen in the games. From the 6 or so levels that were shown, they all seem fairly large, colourful and creative and offer a lot of variety from one level to the next one.

The game uses a intuitive in game design system for the vehicles, which can be assembled within a garage or customised 'in the field'. This simple system makes it easy for the user to make what they want out of the vehicles as they collect parts, and something I could see myself spending a long time doing.

The game also has a online mode, although the only one shown was 'Sumo', a king of the hill type game which uses custom vehicles like bumper cars in a specific area, with the game also making use of the weapons you can add on to the game. All of this looks promising and although it has not been announced, it seems likely that it will be possible to share your designs online. The game itself looks promising, and should be a return to standards for Rare, just so long as they don't stray too far from the original genre (Star Fox for example).

Other games which were shown included Ninja Gaiden 2, which doesn't stray too far from its original style, just ups the tempo dramatically. With many more enemies onscreen, and the attacks linking together much easier, it really allows for some fast, yet fairly methodical battles, with the aid of the jump-dash attack. This time, your average encounter is around 6-9 enemies, and the gore has been pushed up, with legs, arms, and everything else been thrown around the battle. One particularly nice scene involved a legless (as in without legs!) crawling up to you and planting an explosive shuriken in your chest...kaplooey. There's a lot more to talk about from the game, but this game promises to surpass the original in various ways.

Fable 2 was talked about for a bit, but it didn't really add anything new to what we already know, or think we know about what the game is going to be like. Too Human was shown off, and I still can't get my head around it, a game which is basically a Norse dungeon crawler with sci-fi elements with a epic story spreading over a trilogy. The game appears to be tuned in the same way phantasy star online on dreamcast was, and the levelling up systems seems to be fairly customisable by the user adding points to certain elements which may alter combat style.

Combat itself is similar to a point and click rpg, with the right analog stick being used to aim yourself towards a enemy who you will then attack. It seems a bit slow paced compared to the previously mentioned Ninja Gaiden, but for fans of the phantasy star series or similar PC based games, Too Human should be a enjoyable ride.

Behind then scenes of The Next Level Podcast

Since it was our first piece of content that wasnt completly text based, and since we wanted an excuse to appear in HD on the internet, here is a behind the scenes look at the podcast. So, take a look!
(Note: Click on the link at the bottom to view the HD version)

Behind the scenes of the podcast- 17/5/08 from The Next Level UK on Vimeo.

Our First Podcast

We finally got our nice new microphones on Friday, so we decided it was time to make our very first podcast. It's quite long (nearly one hour), so it might be worth downloading it if you don't think you have that long to listen to it in one go.

Enjoy.

 

 

To Download:  Right click and select 'Save Link As' here

'Courage is Solid'...apparantly

 

Metal Gear Solid 4 promises to turn the advertising world upside down. It is perhaps one of the first games to have a 15 minute trailer as its teaser trailer, and a 3 minute trailer as its final theatrical trailer.

The sheer amount of content in the trailer is overwhelming and I don't have the time to write something about every shot as I could in the Gears of War 2 trailer. So, if you haven't watched it already, click play on the embedded player at the top of this post.

Watched it? Good.

My initial reaction to this trailer was 'Hmm, they used a Movie-trailer style voiceover' but maybe that's because I know very little about the Metal Gear series having never actually played one. I decided to read some of the responses to the video to see what others thought about it.

Immediately I was presented with a large number of comments saying something along the lines of 'Why isn't this coming out on 360?' and 'I'd a PS3 for this, but not until the PS3 costs 55p' or my personal favourite 'I'm not a fanboy, but the PS3 is a pile of steaming s**t' (Note: Some of these quotes have been emphasised for effect).

Digging down into some real comments, people commented on how movie-like the trailer was and I felt inclined to agree with them. Apart from the CG graphics and unrealistic sounding dialogue (It just doesn't sound natural to me) the trailer would not seem out of place in a cinema. It even managed to have that same sense of it trying too hard to sound exciting, in the same way a trailer for an action movie might, with lines like 'Evil is powerful' and 'When war becomes business'.

Yet more comments had people pointing out characters from older series that had made an appearance, although being unable to really name any characters other than the main ones means that I am not really in a position to confirm of deny such sightings.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is due out worldwide on June 12 only on PS3.

Quick Update

 

Ok, so we're still trying to get everything sorted out content wise. We've got our microphones all sorted out so should, all being well, be recording a podcast and short video on Saturday. We've both been really busy lately, and are hoping to try and get a few more authors helping us out with content etc. Until then, we'll try our best, but at the moment, everything is crazy!

We must all be like the Wii...

Ok then, we will, all admit that whatever our doubts were before Nintendo released the Wii, its a damn interesting machine. Sure, it lacks the brunt of the PS3 and 360, but its hardware, if used correctly by both customers and developers, is genius. Unfortunately, there are a very small number of games which have been produced for the console which are actually any good. The rest seem to be created through the minds of sadists who simply want Wii owners to suffer.

So, what makes the Wii popular? I've ruled out the software above, with the excellent games such as Super Mario Galaxy and Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (which is getting on a bit now) and a couple of others being mostly Nintendo developed titles and most third party stuff being crap PS2 ports. I reckon its mainly down to the kind of people who when I've asked them about the Wii their response has been.

"Its really fun, I just love playing Wii sports, the bowling is awesome....And Wii fit.....I'm classed as un-fit you know...but still can do all the exercises....how awesome is that!"

Now don't think I'm ridiculing the Wii as a games console. I have played both the games above and admit that they are fun. Unfortunately they only keep my little mind interested for about 10 minutes, and once I've done all the stuff once, I ain't really into doing it again and again every single day.

But, I feel Nintendo really needs to focus on the people who really got them into the position they are as a games company. Those hardcore gamers who decided to purchase Nintendo console after console, and have stuck with the company all the way through the its history. Yes, they do release a Zelda game, and countless Mario games, as well as loads of other first party titles. But they really need something new to hook back those fans, like myself, who have found themselves moving over to more traditional based consoles for a good experience (Smash Bros. Brawl for example is pretty much unplayable with the Wiimote).

What's worse though, is when other companies attempt to copy it, simply to attract the 'casual' audience (though it hurts to use that phrase) which the Wii has so clearly hooked. Sony tried it first with Sixaxis because "Vibration in controllers is completely last Gen..." (Ken Kutaragi)...proved wrong with that one, weren't you. Now the Sixaxis stuff in PS3 games has been more tacked on that many Wii games, so Sony seems safer sticking with Singstar and Buzz....

But, its not just Sony, Apple has also filed a '3D remote control system' for their set top box, Apple TV. Now not exactly the same, but it seems that Apple are attempting to lure people into buying its promise because 'It looks like that Wii majiggy..'. Also with Microsoft's Xbox media summit, that kicks off at some point today, rumours are rife that a Xbox 360 Wiimote esque thing will be shown off. The truth in this is a bit up and down, but either way, it looks like we won't be seeing the end of the these 'Casual Gaming Controlling devices' any time soon.

Really a revolution?

Having followed the Civilization series since its second game quite a few years back, I've often wondered if they could ever bring it to consoles. Sure, I prefer playing RTS games on PC's, but seeing as for the most part these 'Next gen' machines operate like computers (see the 20 mins install times for PS3 Lost Planet and DMC4), shouldn't the process of adapting a game to work on a set lot of hardware be easier than the variety that is afforded to PCs.

For those not familiar to the Civ series, you pick a civilization and a leader (in this installment). You then attempt to spread your cities, influence and military might, if you want to, over the randomly generated content, researching nation wide technologies and city based buildings and units. The main fun part of the game comes from the strategy from interacting with other Civs, who may attempt to be your ally, or threatening you into violence.

Previously, many console based RTS games have been forgettable. The 360 has recently seen a influx of such games, although nearly all have been the poor, inbred, stunted half cousin of the PC counterparts. More and more aspects of PC gaming are now moving over to consoles, with mouse support in games (such as UT3 for the PS3) and hard drive based installs.

So can the console version (which is also coming out on DS) of Civ IV, Civilization Revolution, really give the kick up the backside console based RTS games need. First, the DS version. Now the main limit with the DS is the memory required to load it all and the screen space. Now C:R attempts to pull the same tricks the Age Of Empires game did by stripping out a lot of the details of the game, but attempting to keep as much of the substance as possible.

The game itself controls itself a lot more, leading to far less micromanagement. For example, citizens automatically exploit resources such as farms and mines, and cities require far less looking after. However, the game still requires a keen tactical mind, as although the games are shorter (with your varying options of winning from world domination to cultural er..domination still intact), the CPU still attempts some cunning tricks. The touchscreen uses some point and drag systems, making it easier to control for those used to PC's.

The 360 and PS3 versions are as you expect, much more lavish on the graphical side of things. The characters are big and cartoonish and this is also mirrored in the overall environment presentation, which has very vivid colours and smooth animations. The game plays very similar to that of the PC versions, with you researching technologies through day one of your civ to the space age, but one main criticism at the moment was the lack of on screen text at various points. This is not too much of issue, but it may hinder various decisions as details are skimmed over.

Controls have been adapted to allow easy movement between cities, but getting around the world map seems sluggish at the moment, with no easy to navigate mini-map. Why they haven't put a keyboard input for the PS3 version I don't know, but hopefully Fireaxis may be persuaded to if they take a glance over some forums

Overall, it looks like Sid Meiers Civilisation: Revolution could be a console hit, hooking many console fans with its addictive, time sucking gameplay. The game is set for release on 360, PS3 and DS this June, but if you can't wait for that to play a civ game, Civilization 4 on the PC comes highly recommended.

Condemned+light x Girl=Faith

Mirror's Edge : premier trailer
Uploaded by nofrag

Recently shown at a Playstation press event, Mirrors edge is being developed by DICE, creators of the Battlefield series, and published by EA. Now, game designers are having to think different, and take an alternative view on things, in order for their game to be separate from the swarms of others that are released throughout the year.

For example, the Condemned series by Sega, which recently saw the release of its second instalment, is a game based in a FPS perspective, yet increases the immersion levels. People always go on about the fact you're 'Right in the firefight' or 'Demonstrates the tension and immersion of a real war scenario', but at the end of the day, most FPS characters are faceless spoons, who took fashion tips from Rayman, ending up with floating arms as a body.

Condemned, and a few others change this, by allowed you to see the hands move up to the characters face when you shout for someone, or see their legs (Shock, gasp and horror) as they fall. This is similar to what the team at DICE are trying to do with Mirrors Edge. The trailer shows off the very slick and overall clean visuals, with HD textures really put to good use as your character climbs over objects.

Basic information on the game seems to be that it is set in a world where information is closely guarded and monitored, and if people want to move information without being monitored, they employ the help of runners. You play a female runner called Faith, and overall the game seems inspired by free running (think those crazy building site antics in Casino Royale).

Mirrors Edge is a beautiful game to watch, as Faith effortlessly bounds, leaps and climbs over obstacles. Her backstory seems a slightly cliched one for mysterious characters like herself. She grew up on the streets of the city, having lost both her parents, and distrusts the modern communication system.

To be perfectly honest, I couldn't care less about her backstory if she controlled like a drunk elephant. The designers have put the emphasis on maintaining momentum through difficult environments, rather than running and gunning, but the game is not really open world. The key to the game appears to be stringing moves together, so you don't start falling off things or getting shot by those chasing you.

The developers main problem appears to making the game simple enough for people to pick up and enjoy, yet clever enough to allow the stringing together and flowing of moves. The main issue with games is, how does the developer make the player go where they need to go. DICE's answer, something they call 'Runner Vision'.

When you watch the trailer, keep an eye out for all those things that glow red against the mainly white and blue environment. These show the route you should take, so for example, a door you need to go through suddenly gets embarrassed and glows red as you get nearer. The developers have compared this to the way in the Bourne films, 'Bourne sees things differently, a weapon whilst we only see a pen, so the game shows you this route'. Hopefully, this will allow novice players to move quickly through the environment, rather than plodding. And this should reduce the chance of the character 'snagging' on the environment.

As well as simply bouncing over roof tops, there are going to be some movement puzzles ie: How the hell do I get to that vent? and at some points, combat. From the trailer, it appears that it uses self defence disarming techniques and chokes, with some use of weapons, though this still isn't clear, but the game defiantly is not a shooter. There, as always, is some form of bullet time 'Reaction Time', which you gain from linking slick moves together, and allows you to fine tune huge jumps by slowing down time.

So, a promising looking game, which seems to be trying to steal some of the hype that Assassins Creed enjoyed last year. Hopefully, if DICE can make the game work as well as it does in the trailer, and the environments don't get too samey, it should be one to watch out for.

Mirrors Edge is planned for release this year on 360, PS3 and PC.