Tuesday A to Z - W

Yes I am finally up to date the letter W & just before Tuesday arrives with the next letter waiting.

Wild Arms (PS1)

I love anime intro sequences to games & this game has one of the best on the Playstation with a lovely whistling soundtrack to accompany it.

 

The game itself is a turn based rpg affair in the fight sequences similar to final fantasy.  The world of Filgaia an old wild west style you control a group of three characters who each have their own skills & are basically treasure hunters but like always with most rpg games you have to stop an evil being from destroying the world. Typical storyline affair but good fight mechanics & an excellent music score made this one of the best early rpg games released on the Playstation.

Wii Sports (Wii)

Like most Wi owners probably the first game you play when getting a Wii console, it shows off very well the enjoyment of motion-controlled gaming. Many games of bowling have been played especially during the holiday seasons. Not bad for a free game you get with the console.

Words with Friends (iOS)

My blog shows currently 39 WordswithFriends posts. It obviously beat Scrabble to the platform and is now owned by Facebook giant Zynga.

This is easily my most played game on the iOS platform, if it is not a tournament game it will be a game against a random opponent.

There are two opponents though that I play against on a regular basis Becky (spritesbites) & William (HaggisHunter) just a shame there is no stats features on this game but a reminder of some of my favourite wordswithfriends posts from my blog starting with my highest scoring word Lynches, longest word Emotionalist, beating Jochta & of course not forgetting Cibrushsille

Tuesday A to Z - V

Nearly catching up with UGVM who completed the letter W last week. Just like the letter U, V is also difficult to find any games I have completed.

Vandal Hearts (PS1)
In the land of rpg's you have different types from your turn-based rpg's like Final Fantasy to action rpg's like Zelda. You also have a third in strategy or tactical rpg, these types of games are usually set out on a grid type formation in which you will move your characters a certain number of squares to attack the enemy by either long range or up close combat. Shining Force on the Megadrive introduced me to this type of game & remains one of my favourite s-rpg series. Unlike the previous 16-bit generation the Playstation received quite a few PAL rpg releases & this is how I noticed Vandal Hearts. Whilst browsing the HMV game shelf of newly released games I came across this game & it was not until I turned over the game case to see the back screen-shots that I saw a fire dragon spraying damage on enemies & the numbers 59 hovering above a character that I realised what I was holding was a rare PAL release of a s-rpg game. It offers you nothing new in terms of gameplay but what Konami does do is make a good set of characters and a great storyline to produce a very enjoyable s-rpg game.

Tuesday A to Z - U

What a tough letter I nearly had nothing to write about & then remembered my first football management game on the PC.

Ultimate Soccer Manager 98 (PC)
Taking the mighty Liverpool to the top of the league with a newly built stadium. You could manage every feature in this game from the advertising boards on the pitch to the price of hot-dogs. The improvement of the stadium grounds to player transfer. Playing Liverpool was obviously easy with the big bank budget they had but taking Oxford proved to be a tougher challenge & ultimately more rewarding when after 7 seasons they finally made it into the top flight. It took them another 3 season to claim the top prize.

Glorified spreadsheet or a working calculator. Football management games are all about number crunching in the background to advance the game. In my gaming years so far I have dabbled with this genre again with Kick Off World on the PS1 & Championship Manager 3 on the PC but nothing more recent. Why? Choice I guess there is now so much choice on what to play that I have not yet returned to the management simulation but more importantly I suppose that "New Experience" in gaming.

Just like in life I tend to get very bored doing the same task thus in gaming I get bored with playing the same type of game. I cannot understand those gamers who will pay £30 every year for the next Fifa, Tiger Woods or Call of Duty game (I suppose at least this has a single player campaign - albeit very short). I suppose this is where I should rush out now and go buy a Kinect......nope I think not.

Borderlands - Claptrap's New Robot Revolution

I have easily gotten my moneys worth out of this game already with currently having played 147 hours with my soldier class character since I received my first achievement on the 11th November 2009. I have been playing on/off since then, picking up the main quest in February 2010.

Then the DLC content much later on with the usual UGVM team of Cooltag, Gus, Sessile & Moi recently we completed the Claptrap Revolution DLC in which you are fighting a revolt by the claptraps. There are some humorous moments in the game especially when the robots did and say "404 Error, file not found" You also have a few more boss fights along the way until you get to the ultimate showdown with MINAC (Mega Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap)

The DLC also brings with it some annoying collect-a-ton achievements which will take you a while to unlock because of the poor drop rate of the rare items. There is also a find the statue quest which is fairly easy to miss so ensure when you see these statues you read the information plates. We also had a go at killing the Crawmerax

Now onto Mad Moxxi

Tuesday A to Z - T

Still playing catch up with UGVM who are now on the letter W

Tekken (Arcade/PS1)

One foolish morning, I woke up and decided to pack up my US SNES collection with games & set off for Tottenham Court Rd. Not once on that journey did I have any doubts about the atrocity I was about to commit. I promptly arrived at CEX and handed over my collection in exchange for a Playstation 1 with Ridge Racer & Tekken.

I was eager to return home & enjoyed reading the manuals on the coach journey back to Oxford. Rushed upstairs to my bedroom whilst grabbing the phone to inform my friends who were on their way. The Sony logo loaded followed by Playstation & then an FMV intro, oh my I was drooling with excitement. Tekken was an amazing showcase for the Playstation coming from the SNES & Megadrive 2D worlds, you could now fight in a 3D world trying to pull off the difficult 10 hit combos. My friends arrived & the 2^nd controller got plugged in to sit back & enjoy an evening of VS fighting.

Later in life I was to regret this transaction but that is gaming the evolving of the generations & the reminiscing of days gone by.

Tetris (Gameboy)

If anyone says they have not played a tetris type game, they are lying or they are dead. Many many variations on all platforms but nothing beats the original Tetris on the Gameboy. For those of you that have not a quick summary, blocks are falling down and you need to join them up to make lines to explode. A simple idea to a very addictive game.

Tempest 2000 (Jaguar)

UGVM used to regularly visit ECTS in London & on one of my visits my enterprising head purchased 10 Atari Jaguar units to sell on. I decided to keep one to try and find a game on the Jaguar I would enjoy alas this was a tougher task than I appreciated but I did eventually find a gem of a game in Tempest 2000, it’s a simple shoot em up game but in typical Jeff Minter style very enjoyable and challenges you to play that one more turn for a higher score.

Time Crisis (PS1)

On the Atari St I had a Trojan Phazer lightgun, I don’t recall with which game I tested this contraption on but it was obviously not memorable. It was not until Namco released the G-Con that you could truly enjoy lightgun shooters in the comfort of your own home & what better way to start than with the arcade conversion of Time Crisis.

Tomb Raider (PS1)

THE video-gaming icon & virtual dream for the Playstation generation. Lara Croft, there I said it that is all you wanted to read. Treasure hunting, pistol shooting, ledge grabbing Lara, That’s my Lara.

Core Design taking the Indiana Jones theme from Rick Dangerous to Tomb Raider & transforming it into a 3D world adventure chuck full with puzzles, enemies, caverns, guns & above all a storyline. This game set the transformation from the 2D platform adventure games of the previous generations to the now amazing gaming worlds you see in games like Uncharted & Assassins Creed.

To this day I have only ever played the first game, a reboot of Lara Croft will occur in 2012 & I plan to play with her again.

UGVM vs BETEO - Round 4 FIGHT inc Results

4^th round with 4 players left on each team will be the same again 1 vs 1 with 1 point being awarded to the winning team. Same again 2 players on each team will go out, losers will go out first & any winners with the lowest score if needed.

The first player in the match will start the game against the other player - in the chat window can you also announce that this is a tournament game so the opposing player is aware.

jochta vs AlarmBee - UGVM Win 428 vs 386
Curiosity vs Xexyzx - BETEO Win 349 - 342
HarpingOn vs alanjoans - UGVM Win 371 vs 366
GillyMc vs thermalsatsuma - UGVM Win 342 vs 394


UGVM - 19 Points
BETEO - 9 Points

Through to the next round from UGVM is Jochta & thermalsatsuma, sorry Gazza even though you won the match you have the lowest winning score of 371.

From BETEO we have Curiosity & AlarmBee who is the highest scoring loser.

Round 5 draw coming up soon

Tuesday A to Z - S

With these A to Z posts I try to limit myself to only write about a maximum of 5 games or less in some occasions but occasionally you will get a letter where you are overflowing with games to choose & have to chop out some selections. My initial list for the letter S came in at 32, way too many. I could be here for days writing about that, I have the limit set at 5 so I can keep up with the thread on UGVM, I’ve failed on that I know. I managed to get my list down to 15 by taking out games that I enjoyed playing but did not get that over-whelming feeling of wow ! now that was a game !

15 was still too many, I now had to get rid of some games that I thoroughly enjoyed, it was time to start cutting some of my gaming roots. After chopping out some truly memorable gaming experiences I have ended up with 6. I tried to get down to 5 but I just could not cut out any of the games below, each one of them played an crucial part in me GOSPVG the gamer.

Street Fighter 2 (Arcade/SNES)

From the arcade to the bedroom Hadouken !!

Ryu vs Ken. Round 1 FIGHT !

Playing with friends at college to honing my skills at home with my younger brother on the SNES. Yes I know it had borders on the PAL version but I didn’t care it was Street Fighter 2 probably the best beat em up ever made. More importantly it meant I could play a 2 player arcade conversion at home, if it was not Sensible Soccer (See what I don’t there got another game reference in with the letter S) it would be Street Fighter 2.  To master and learn all the skills from the various characters apart from Dhalsim I could not pull off his Fire breath or vanishing trick & Zangeif I never played him.

Space Harrier (Arcade/Sega Master System)

“Welcome to the Fantasy Zone, Get Ready !”

Boy was I ready !! Alas all my pleading to my father to buy me a Sega Master System never prevailed and I had to visit my friend’s at weekends to play or spend my pocket money at the local arcade. It was not until much later in life when I had cash to spend that I finally purchased a Master System to revisit Fantasy Zone. If my wife would say yes & I could choose one arcade machine it would not be Space Harrier What !! come on Star Wars Arcade of course (see what I done there got another game reference in with the letter S)

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Megadrive)

SEEEGAAA !!

All together now, All together in no man’s land (together)

Oh where was I  Tuu Ne Ne Nee Nah, Tuu Te ne nah na ne.

Every console has one game, one game to rule them all. Sonic was clearly THE game on the Sega Megadrive just like Super Mario World on the SNES (see what I done there got another game reference in with the letter S) he was the Sega’s mascot. A fast blue hedgehog with red shoes, jumping over obstacles, going round loops & collecting rings. I am ashamed to say I have only completed the 3 Sonic the Hedgehog games on the megadrive (Sonic, Sonic 2 & Sonic 3 – forget the others they don’t count) and nothing else. None of his games released for the many other consoles I have played with the brief experience of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic games but I have instilled in my youngest son the love for Sonic. He carries forth the sonic legacy for a new generation I’m waiting for the Zimmer –Frame edition so I can play.

Shining Force (Sega Megadrive)

Super Play oh what a magazine, possibly the best gaming magazine ever made, so many RPG games I would not have known about if it was not for Matt Bielby, Tony Mott, Jason Brookes, Jonathan Davies, Zy Nicholson & others. Also I must mention in relation to the magazine Wil Overton for his Manga inspired artwork. Anyhow back to Shining Force it was a turn-based RPG affair, you control a group of warriors on the quest to defeat the Dark Dragon. You could move your characters a certain number of places dependent on their level & equipment. Then you were given the choice to attack if you were close to an enemy, defend, cast magic or use an item. This was no Silent Storm (see what I done there got another game reference in with the letter S) It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience that resulted in me splashing out £59.99 for the sequel on release but even worse £229 for a Sega Mega Cd with a Backup cartridge & Shining Force CD (which was the worst game in the series I have played – there was no exploration it was just one fight sequence to another). I have not played Shining Force 3 but recently did download Shining Force when it was released on the app store to relive the memories.

Suikoden (PS1)

108 Characters to choose from but you can only make a team of 6 !! What? !

Whose stupid idea was that? was it a limitation of the game engine?

The 6 character team limit aside this was easily one of the highlights of the PlayStation RPG genre, a well-executed game with a great soundtrack & battle sequence.

From my humble RPG beginnings on the Acorn Electron with Sphinx Adventure (see what I done there got another game reference in with the letter S) to Secret of Mana (see what I done there got another game reference in with the letter S) on the Super Nintendo. The lure of the FMV intro’s and the mass migration of Japan’s RPG software houses from the SNES to PlayStation (I bet this sent shockwaves through Nintendo) made me embrace the US import scene full on with at least 2 or 3 purchases a month being sent over from Tronix via the Atlantic. Eventually Suikoden did get a PAL release but pah! Who was going to wait that long to play it? Not me !

Shadow Complex (XBLA)

Throughout my gaming, there are always titles that do not for whatever reason grab my attention when released. Shadow Complex is one of those gems that I ignored until Microsoft reduced its price on a deal of the week. Chair Entertainment with Epic of Gears of War & Unreal fame took the Super Metroid & Castlevania type of gameplay. “Metrodvania” it has been coined & gave it their touch. Boy !! what a touch, they lovingly created in my opinion one of the best Xbox Live Arcade Games to date.

You are Jason Fleming and your girlfriend has been taken captive by an underground facility. What seems like a simple search and rescues attempt soon evolves into something far more sinister & world changing. It is a 2d type affair with gorgeous visuals & set pieces, you do have to revisit areas once you have the required equipment you need to advance but this does not feel like a chore but somehow rewarding knowing that you can now access another area to enjoy.

If it was not for another “Metroidvania” game in Batman Arkham Asylum last year this would have easily been my game of the year, it is that good. Now stop reading this & go download & play it !!

1000 Heroz - I'm done

After 40 odd days I have gotten bored of this daily grind, sometimes spending up to an hour just to get a fast time to top the leader-boards. I'm going to go back to playing some proper games like Splinter Cell Conviction & Pirates recently purchased on iPad.

Tuesday A to Z - R

Yes I know, where have I been with my A to Z. UGVM are already up to letter V & I'm stuck on the letter R yet, I'm playing catch-up give me a chance.

Repton (Acorn Electron)

You are a Lizard, strange choice of character but I’m sure if had some meaning to the designer. This was a boulder-dash type affair which had you running around avoiding blocks & monsters to collect diamonds. I have managed to find a flash version of the game http://www.repton3.co.uk/repton1.aspx & apparently it has been released for iOS platform at a bargain price of £2.99 (Yes I’ll pass)

Rick Dangerous (Atari ST)

Just like famous scene from the Indiana Jones movie, you start with a boulder rolling behind you RUN !!!

Too late you’ve been SPLAT!!, try again quick RUN !!!

Fall, oh no a tribe warrior, phew that rolling boulder got him.

It is a game of trial & error but more importantly patience.

I’m loving my flash games so have another http://rickdangerousflash.free.fr/

R-Type (Arcade)

This is the classic Arcade Shoot Em Up for me, a futuristic space craft & blasting aliens into dust.

It was also very difficult to this day I have not yet completed this game, usually getting destroyed by some small aliens craft fire that I forget to dodge.

I have not played the R Type Final game on the PS2 (Hopefully it is not the last game in the series) but R Type Delta on the PS1 was an amazing experience with lovely graphics & music but equally tough in places especially the boss fights. After a few attempts on the later levels I did finally manage to complete this game with the help of some printed information.

Road Rash (Sega Megadrive)

Come on EA it’s been 10 years since the last Road Rash game.

It is a simple motorbike racing game but you get to punch, kick destroy your opponent during the race.

Criterion probably got the idea from Burnout & Takedown’s from this game.   

Resident Evil (PS1)

Sorry that should be Resident EEEeeeeevil Mwahhahhh.

Yes the character movement is horrible turn and move but the camera angles, action sequences and the dialogue the bad but oh so funny dialogue

“Here Jill, take this lock pick, it might come in handy for you... the master of unlocking.”

I have only ever played the first resident evil game, none of the sequels came anywhere near my consoles. I have however watch all the Resident Evil movies which I actually find quite enjoyable certainly one of the better games to movies crossover.

Ok what's next oh yes S

Hardware Update - iPad

The big brother to the iPod Touch, having the bigger screen does help especially on apps where I do a lot of reading like Twitter, TapaTalk & Newstap. Also very useful for playing iPad designed games like Carcassonne & Words with Friends HD.


The battery life is very impressive easily approaching 9 or 10 hours. I'm going to be more selective though on what apps I buy for the iPad, splashing out 69p on every app that goes on sale is not the way for me now. If I like it then i'll get it regardless of the price, of course if it's free then i'll get it. I've got 64GB to fill up on this baby.


I'm keeping it away from the kids for now & they can only use under my supervision but they all enjoy playing their favourite games on the bigger screen & yes Angry Birds was one of the first games they tried.

Wordfeud is Dead

Wordfeud is dead, it keeps crashing on me when trying to load the app. I’ve deleted the app & reinstalled but nope still does not load the app.

So today I removed the app from my iPod touch & iPad, it had the coveted first screen but alas no more. It seems to me that the application works fine on Android devices but not on iOS vice versa with the Words with Friends app which works fine on iOS but crashes on Android.

Anyhow it’s words with friends only for me from now on. Username obviously is gospvg so send me an invite if you want a game.

11/10 Cancel this i've had a few invites to the game so I am playing this again.

1000 Heroz - Day 44 - What AGAIN !!

Oh my look who is at the top again?

Breaking into the 14 second barrier with a 14.993

Just outside the top100 in the world in 119th

Yes the screen-shots are big again.

I was sat in third position with a 15.551 and then a tweet from Luffers "Right, I've set the fastest time on 1000 Heroez... AGAIN. Now I'm off to work, do NOT beat me! #ugvm " I mean that tweet was asking for trouble, sorry Luffers 2nd spot again.

Streets of Rage 2 - Completed

I have neglected my PS3 this generation, not for a lack of games I have Uncharted 1 & 2 still on my gaming shelf. When PSN came back on-line I like most was happy to download my 2 free games (Infamous & Little Big Planet) & use my 1 month free of PSN+

History will show that I only used my free month for a brief few hours to download games that at the time I thought I would play over the month. One of these games was Streets of Rage 2 a little over 50mb, it promptly downloaded & installed within minutes.

Abbas then entered the room & I asked "Do you want to play a classic co-op game?" He pondered the thought, I could see him thinking what punishment is my Father going to put me through now, is this another trip down memory lane for him? But he was happy to join me on this trip & replied ok.

Before even powering up my rose-tinted glasses we had to hunt for the a second controller, unlike the 360 where we have four controllers on the PS3 we really only had one working controller. After trawling through the archives & blowing off a mountain of dust I found a second controller which had a faulty R2 button but that was not a concern in this megadrive port which only required a few buttons.

"SEGA"

Choose your characters Axel & Eddie. Now we go downtown to start our adventure, almost instantly the memories come flooding back to me with the 8 bit music ringing around my ears. Abbas is playing along and then turns around to say "It's quite easy, isn't it?" and I have to agree with him.

We quickly play through all 8 stages in approx 45 mins & meet Mr X, he is like the rest of the games enemies easily dealt with & roll credits.

For a brief time I was transported back to the early 90's now it's time to return Back to the Future