31. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

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31. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

Just read that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on the PS3 will be delayed until the 2nd quarter of 2008 which means between April and June.

The following statement was released today by publisher Konami’s Japanese operation:

October 31, 2007 - KONAMI announced today that “METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS”, the latest in the METAL GEAR series, is scheduled to be released in the second quarter of 2008.

KONAMI had initially intended to release “METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS” this winter and has been working on the production of the title. KONAMI has decided to delay the title’s release in order to make further improvements to the quality of the game and provide even greater enjoyment for more customers worldwide.

KONAMI will continue its efforts to make “METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS” meet everyone’s expectations.

Further information regarding the release date will be announced as soon as possible.
Title: “METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS”
Expected Release Date: the second quarter of 2008
Genre: Action
Platform: “PLAYSTATION 3″

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31. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

This is a game first released on the Gamecube then the PS2 and recently the Wii. It seems that people appreciate an excellent port and especially when it is such a great value for money (not to mention when there are not a lot of good games on the console). On play.com the sale price is just STG25 (EUR38.99) and in the US it is USD30. Although i played it on the Gamecube i also got it for the Wii after reading the reviews. I played a bit but then unfortunately i then gave it up. It is fantastic game for those who have not played it before and the Wii Edition is probably the best of the three versions. If you own a Wii and have not played Res4 before then do yourself a favour and go out and buy it. One of the very best!

Update:

Like i mentioned above the game was released at a lower price point by Capcom because it is an older game with new motion sensing controls fitted on to it. However i just had a look at the Micromania website and they are selling it as a full priced game at CYP35. It is a significant price difference so have it in mind.

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30. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

I have talked about this before in comments i made about a Time article on Halo 3. How games are perceived by non gamers and the acceptance of games as a form of art. There is a discussion going on at N’Gai’s blog over at Newsweek about this with some really good comments worth reading. It is a never ending debate but one which needs to be made and fortunately now there are people who can now do so in a mature manner, strong arguments and in more influential positions. You can just look at the way the issue is now being discussed to realise how much the medium and its fans have matured.

This is a comment posted by a Newsweek user, StolenName

I’m 22 at the moment and when I read these interviews (Clive Barker interview) I actually feel younger than I am, call it lack of experience, but from what I can glean from your interviews with Barker and the media at large, it seems like critics, whether of art, film or novel, are close minded or myopic. Couldn’t their rejection of media like games and music be partly because they have no way of understanding the mixed media, as games are a marriage of visual, audio, writing and player interaction, and actually finding a way to understand that within their on learned discourse?

And also, N’Gai, do you believe that as younger gamers grow older and begin to move into the industry (as I’m trying!) and the older critics move on, that the perception of games as art / not art or for adults (as well as children) will shift? Or is there something about games in particular that forces them to remain an under-appreciated artistic medium by the general public?

To which N’Gai replied:

StolenName, every critic has assumptions, biases, prejudices, dogmas and blind spots, all of which add up to what some might call myopia and others might call personal taste. The challenge is for we critics to recognize the baggage that we bring to the table and to constantly engage it–publicly, whenever possible–so that our readers can see us working through our thought processes.

As you correctly point out, games present a particular challenge to older critics because while many older media only require the intended audience to have eyes and/or ears, videogames add a mechanical component that necessitates varying degrees of skill. I’m fond of saying that we “see” games with our hands; unfortunately, this means that a number of people who sit in positions of influence and authority over videogames–parents, politicians, protesters, even some publishers–are for all intents and purposes blind to the medium.

As for whether or not demographics alone can solve the art/not art conundrum surrounding videogames, I don’t believe that that alone will be sufficient. First, there are many people who make videogames who don’t believe that games are art–Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto and Konami’s Hideo Kojima among them–and the same is true of a lot of people who play games. Second, those of us who do believe that videogames are art are still struggling to understand and articulate the nature of that artistry. If I had to predict, I would say that the process by which videogames may become widely accepted as art will be both long and incremental, and its success is not guaranteed.

There are more comments like these over at the Newsweek blog - LINK

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30. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

If i had to choose my best game of all time it would be a most difficult decision. I would say i can’t answer that. There is not just one. But if i was say tortured to give an answer then it would be Civilization back in 1991, the turn based strategy game on the PC. My first big love. It set the benchmark for every gaming experience i had since then.

Unfortunately, as i cut my self loose from the PC, i slowly started to neglect my few PC games. I played CIV IV for about a month, loved every minute but then went back to the living room and my consoles. The PC is just not doing it for me and Civilization paid the price.

That is why when Firaxis announced they would be bringing the series to the next gen consoles i was ecstatic. Now the reunion is set for 2008.

I have two main concerns. The first one is controls. Strategy games and especially the ones with the depth and options of Civ need a mouse a keyboard. Hopefully they will manage to implement a not so cumbersome system on the joypad so that there is no major barrier to the game’s accessibility. The second is that they will dumb it down in order to reach more console gamers who are not so into strategy games. The thing is, what i loved about the series was it vast array of options. You could practically do anything you wanted. I hope they do not compromise on that.

On the bright side however, multiplayer may be more accessible especially on Live compared to the PC.

There is a demo coming out this year while the game is being released in 2008. I have faith that it will be as sweet as i remember it to be.

IGN - hands on

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29. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

Last Saturday morning I woke up at around 08:30-09:00, made myself some hot coffee and surfed the internet for around an hour or so.

Then I went over to the living room and disconnected my PSP from the charger, took a comfortable horizontal position on my sofa and switched it on. The familiar music was once again ringing in my ears while I was accessing my saved games. The final boss battle was about to begin.

The above ritual has been taking place for the last 2 weeks or so now. Ever since Jeanne D’Arc, by Level 5, came into my life and brought the PSP back from the abyss with it. I had never played a strategy RPG before Jeanne ‘Arc and was a bit worried that I would be over my head. In the first 2-3 stages that was in fact the case. I kept losing while I was still trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. But after that things started clicking. Admittedly the game is somewhat easy, although you do need to think about some sort of strategy. But Jeanne D’Arc manages to keep things simple all the way through. It’s a very user friendly game.

The game is at no time frustrating (unless you really hate 2 stage bosses) and keeps your interest until the very end. When a game manages to keep you hooked and loyal for as long as Jeanne D’Arc does, some considerable credit is due.

It has an interesting story to tell, with unexpected twists, and together with some great characters it always makes you anxious to find out what will happen next. The cut scenes, although not enough of them in the game, are fantastic as well.

A minor issue I had was with the layout of the stages where you can not know whether or not you completed a free or bonus stage until you actually get into that area.

One last thing about the game. It will not released in Europe so you will need to get a US copy. I got mine on Ebay for CYP15 only. I highly recommend Jeanne D’Arc not just to anyone interested in RPGs but to any PSP owner out there. It is the kind of game which gives you a nice, warm feeling inside.

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29. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

To get an idea of what the game is all about, here is Gametrailers’ review of the game (8.4/10)

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29. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

The Wii’s popularity and commercial success cannot be disputed. It is almost one year since the console’s launch but Nintendo still can not meet the demand for it. However what is yet to be seen is how these motion sensing controls will change gameplay. So far almost all the games on the Wii are simply ports from other consoles and most of these badly ported at that. There are some great games like Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime: Corruption and Table Tennis. But even these have or could have easily been developed on another console without motion sensing controls.

Then there is Zack & Wiki developed by Capcom. I have been following this game closely and has finally been released in the US. This is a game which Destructoid’s reviewer claims that it is the first to actually

“use the Wii’s controls in a natural, efficient, and utterly exhilirating way”

The reviewer goes on to say this,

“Where the Wii’s library has thus far been filled with gimmicky, soulless minigame collections or crappy first-person shooters, Zack and Wiki succeeds at integrating motion control into its puzzle-solving gameplay, rather than hamhandedly forcing Wiimote gestures where they don’t belong or building dozens of boring, ostentatious flail-a-thon minigames just for the sake of it. As stated above, it’s the best game on the Wii right now”.

You can read the full Destructoid review here.

In a holiday season filled with Halos, CODs, Super Mario, FIFA and Pro some truly great and unique games may go unnoticed. One of the purposes of this blog is to give exposure to games like Zack & Wiki and give them a chance to be enjoyed. I will be giving you a few more updates on this game until its release in Europe in December. For the time being Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure remains one of my most anticipated games this holiday season.

“Don’t let this become a cult classic, never to be sequelized. We desperately need more games like Zack and Wiki on the Wii.

Buy it. Right now.”

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26. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

Last night i was playing Jeanne D’Arc on my PSP. I finally reached the big boss and after 30-45mins i managed to defeat him. Or so i thought. There is a second stage for defeating this boss. I got really mad!!!!!

I have to say that I am extremely opinionated on this subject as I really hate bosses in general and especially the final boss in a game. I find bosses to just be time consuming and I don’t think there is a great skill involved. You just need to die a few or many times and figure out the pattern that will help you defeat the boss.

I remember playing PSI-OPS with a friend and whenever we got to a boss I would gladly hand over the controller for him to take over. It was just boring for me. As simple as that.

Okami, one of my all time favourite games, is a great boss offender as you had to fight the same main boss again and again and again and again! Literally! And if that wasn’t enough you also had to fight all the other bosses again at the final stage of the game. I could hear my controller cracking before each boss fight. I just wanted to break it in half.

The only time I loved a boss was in God of War. Not the whole final boss fight mind you. Only the second part where you had to defend and give health to your family against an onslaught of other Kratosses (is that the right way to say it?). Maybe it was because it wasn’t your typical boss fight and also because of the deeper meaning of that particular fight.

There you have it. I really hate final boss fights. I long for more non boss fight games like Halo or even Ico (just one final boss). I can dream can’t i?

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26. October 2007 by Costas Taliadoros.

Gamasutra has begun a series of articles called A History of Gaming Platforms and the first one is about Commodore 64, which was by far the most successful console of its time. Although for some what is being written here may seem alien as it was a long time ago i really recommend for you to read it. In fact i didn’t have one, i only got into games when the PCs became more affordable. But it’s the history of our hobby and it deserves to be read.

In short, the C64 was a powerful gaming platform for its time, and it was heavily supported by some of the most innovative and talented game developers of all time. There is no doubt that along with the Apple II, Atari VCS, and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), it represents one of the most influential game platforms ever built.

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