Comments (6)

By Greg, July 11, 2010 5:56 pm

Xbox 360 owners should all be aware of the awesomeness that is the Xbox Achievements system. Microsoft managed to add a passive and competitive function to video gaming and, to steal a phrase from Apple, it just works – mainly as a result of seamless integration and its simple, speedy functionality. Comparing yourself against your mates is quick and easy – the bigger number wins – and the little flash up on screen to tell you that you’ve earned a new achievement is not too annoying, particularly because you immediately know how much this will affect your score. It just adds an overall sense of satisfaction to whatever awesome thing it is that you have just performed… In some cases, you might not have even realised you did something awesome – thanks Microsoft.

Sony, of course, has their own version of achievements, released some time after Microsoft debuted them on Xbox… They refer to them as PlayStation Trophies. At its most basic, the idea is sound – trophies of varying levels (bronze, silver, gold and platinum) are awarded for certain gaming events. Each trophy is worth a certain amount of points (based on the level of trophy), and after a certain amount of these points, you “level up”. It seems simple enough, and it’s not too far removed from the idea behind Xbox achievements… But why do I care so little when I score myself a trophy? Let’s investigation!

Continue reading 'Trophies could be more fun'»

Comments (0)

By Greg, June 17, 2010 7:34 pm

Also at E3, Sony announced a new Playstation Network scheme – a paid program separate to (or at least integrated within) the existing network. They’re calling this Playstation Plus. Essentially, the Playstation Network as it is will remain, so they are not suddenly charging for something that has been free to date. They are charging for, well… icing on the cake, basically.

Continue reading 'Playstation… Plus? [UPDATED]'»

Comments (0)

By Greg, June 17, 2010 7:24 pm

They pretend it wasn’t, but this year’s E3 was all about hardware. Microsoft presented Kinect, Sony demonstrated Move, and Nintendo announced their 3DS. Each, in their own way, claimed that the hardware was secondary to the software, yet still allowed a great deal of time discussing the hardware in their presentations. This is not a bad thing – without hardware, we wouldn’t have software. And really, Nintendo said it best – regardless of the hardware, the base experience matters most, and this is entirely dependent on how well the software is designed to be used with the hardware. It’s nice to see someone wasn’t just having a go at everyone else’s tech (looking at you, Sony – but I have to admit you made me laugh). So what was presented?

Continue reading 'E3 2010 impressions: Hardware'»

Comments (3)

By Greg, May 1, 2010 8:10 pm

Every month recently there’s been a videogame released that I really want to play. In some months, more than one. However, with a wife and a young child, it’s not that easy for me to be able to afford… anything. So the months roll by, and I play what I can – borrowing from friends if need be, and only buying the ones I REALLY want. However, just last month I came across Get Gaming, an online rental service (for Australians), and I was damned impressed.

To be honest, part of me doesn’t want to tell you about this service… That part of me wants me to keep it to myself, so it can sort of remain ‘underground’ and won’t be gimped by popularity (although it might already be pretty popular for all I know!)… However, it’s likely that the service would only improve if more people knew about it, so here I go…

Continue reading 'Australian Game Rental: Get Gaming'»

Comments (0)

By Greg, April 2, 2010 5:49 pm

Nostalgia. In medical terms, the suffix "-algia" refers to pain and suffering. Buggered if I know what the prefix "nost-" might mean, but it seems to me that when we pine for days of old.. it hurts. Anyway, defining the stems of nostalgia is overkill, considering the content of this post. My aim is simply to try to find out why old school games have such a strong nostalgic appeal, while newer titles seem to pale in comparison.

As a gamer that grew up in the 80s, I’ve been around (almost) since the beginning. I played text adventures, I have had to code games prior to playing them (which was sometimes more enjoyable than you think, unless the game turned out to be crap, which was unfortunately often the case), I’ve played games on tape, cartridge, CD, DVD, UMD, BDROM, and by download, and I’ve seen played on many and varying systems. I’m sure there are others out there that have seen much much more, but I’m happy with the experience to date, and look forward to what’s ahead.

However, when I look back on my childhood, and think about old school games – games such as Berserk on Atari 2600, Food fight on Atari 7800, Lock’n'Chase on Intellivision, among many, many others – all I can remember is loving every damned second of the game. But when I think about Bioshock, for example, as much as I enjoyed playing that game… I just don’t care to play it through again (at the moment at least). The same feelings aren’t there. But why? Bioshock is, at its heart, a much more polished title, with a memorable storyline and setting, and a very specific ‘feel’. Some would say it’s a much better game than, say, Food Fight. But why do these feelings exist for the (arguably) lesser game?

Continue reading 'Old school is the best school'»

Comments (7)

By Greg, March 28, 2010 7:12 pm

Microsoft has finally released “Game Room” for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows Live, and I must say, it’s pretty much what I was expecting. This is a good thing, though, because I was expecting a pretty funky service.

For those not in the know, Game Room is an executable program that creates a pseudo arcade in your system… so to speak. You can populate this arcade however you please, but of course, you’ll need to fork out some hard cash to buy arcade machines and decorations… Hey – a company has to make money, don’t they?? Impressions follow.

Continue reading 'Game Room… early impressions'»

Comments (5)

By Greg, March 25, 2010 8:49 pm

Music means a lot to a lot of people. In fact, there are very few people in this world that aren’t moved by music, or have little to no interest in it. However, in recent years, many of today’s youth have held music very close to their hearts, so much so that many of them thinking they are the be-all and end-all of musical taste.

But I digress… this isn’t a post rambling about how I’m sick of other people trying to force their preferences upon me or how I’m equally sick of the same people making themselves out to be the biggest music fans in the world – like no-one else likes music. Nope – this post is not about any of these things. It’s about a video game. A video game called Chime.

Continue reading 'Music goodness – but don’t take my word for it'»

Comments (7)

By Greg, March 2, 2010 7:38 pm

Since the dawn of time, humankind has argued over the merits of this versus that. In the mighty world of game, there was the Sega vs. Nintendo war of the early 90′s, the PSP vs. DS age, and more recently, the Xbox 360 vs. PS3 (and both vs. Wii) conundrum. However you may feel about any of these machines, one war that has waged in the background without waning is the war between the console and PC fans.

It’s an interesting one, really. Styles of gaming have always differed across these machine types, and there has always been a pervasive divider between the two. There has also, for as long as I can remember, been a consensus amongst console gamers that PC gaming is dead. Well, it hasn’t died yet, and let’s face it… it won’t die anytime soon. Regardless of how you feel (I’m a console gamer myself), I thought it pertinent to list the pros and cons of each, if only to help me understand why such a division exists.

Continue reading 'The pros and cons of console and PC gaming'»

Comments (2)

By Greg, January 20, 2010 7:58 pm

With talk of the Dreamcast’s ‘Sonic Adventure’ coming to XBLA, as well as the announcement of the “Game Room” for old school arcade/console games (on PC/Xbox), my mind has wondered in recent days to the golden games of old. Well, not that old, but turn of the millennium. And I’ve come to the realisation that one game in particular (although there are many) is due for release on XBLA and PSN – Crazy Taxi.

Crazy Taxi, for it’s time, was a great game. Going back and playing it again now – it still stands the test of time, and above all, it’s virtually the PERFECT arcade game. There’s no need to invest any of your time in story or characters – you simply get in your car and drive (after, uh… choosing a character). Just drive! – In any direction – To beat the timer. The faster you can deliver your passenger, the more time you get, and the more money you make. Very simple mechanics, and much more fun than you think. It really lends itself well to the odd 20-minute stint on XBLA, and the trusty ol’ high score battle with your friends.

Continue reading 'Release more old school arcade games… and start with Crazy Taxi!'»

Comments (0)

By Greg, January 7, 2010 7:17 pm

Just a quick post to say that I’m excited – not in a long while has a video from a gaming/electronics conference made me excited enough to post here… But here it is. Xbox Game Room – a place to buy and share old school arcade games at a fairly low cost (click here for more info direct from Microsoft). Of course, you have to have an Xbox 360… or a PC running Games for Windows Live! I’m guessing you have a PC, so get excited, too!

Update: The old video I had posted wouldn’t work for some reason. hopefully I’ve fixed this with the below Youtube video!