jetsetnick

Bag of Bees: Half Minute Hero

jetsetnick — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:47:44 +0000

I was recently recommended by Kotowari.org to check out indie clothing company Bag of Bees, who have been commissioned by Rising Star Games to make a couple of t-shirt designs for Half Minute Hero.

Half Minute Hero is a parody on the traditional Japanese RPG, condensing the long, 8 bit grinding sessions of old into thirty second intervals. It has a really nice retro style, with a lot of personality for the Sony PSP system.

This morning I received my parcel for the red t-shirt design, so I’ve posted up some photographs of it below.

It’s a little darker than I expected, but fits very well.

A lovely little message from the guys at Bag of Bees. Thank you!

Who will be the first person to comment/ know what the t-shirt is referring too?

It’s normally very hard to find well made, creative video game clothing. I’m not sure why, because there are a lot of gamers who presumably would like some t-shirts to show off their favourite characters. There are a few available in UK stockists such as Game and Gamestation, but they’re normally compressed into cellophane packets and look like quite poor quality. If you know good online stockists for video game clothing (preferably those who ship internationally) let me know!
JetSetNick

Rock Band 3 will be released this winter

jetsetnick — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:43:46 +0000

Harmonix has announced through its official Facebook page that Rock Band 3 will be hitting UK shores this winter. The third iteration will apparently ‘revolutionize the music genre once again’ – although just how this will be done is still unknown.

Rock Band 2 is already a solid platform because of its steady release of DLC and the recent launch of the indie Rock Band Network. Presumably they’ve got a big hardware overhaul or some serious gameplay changes if they feel they need to release a new retail game.

This will be the second Rock Band release of 2010, following on from the Green Day: Rock Band announcement that was leaked in December. Harmonix’s previous tribute to The Beatles was absolutely fantastic, but somehow I just can’t see a Green Day version having the same universal appeal.

Rock Band 3 is being published by MTV Games and will be distributed by everyone’s favourite global giant, Electronic Arts.
JetSetNick

Thumbsticks Podcast Episode 29 – No TLC for DLC

jetsetnick — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:59:54 +0000

Earlier this week I was summoned to Skype in order to take part in a quick podcast with Adrockski, staff writer for Thumbsticks.net. During the show I discuss the downloadable content for Assassin’s Creed 2 and the current climate of distributing DLC. Adrockski reviews Saboteur for me and we round everything up with my initial impressions of Bioshock 2. It clocks in at around 45 minutes, so it’s hopefully a suitable length for you to burn through on the way to work or listen whilst procrastinating on the internet. Please give us comments and let us know how we’re doing!

Click here to listen to the podcast

For anyone that’s keeping tabs on which video games I’m playing, this afternoon I reached Dionysus Park on Bioshock 2. Though still a bit linear, I’m loving the level design and fantastic audio files. I’ll have a review up soon, I promise!
JetSetNick

The Sound of Gaming Music

jetsetnick — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:15:31 +0000

Video game soundtracks are highly underrated. So much so, that I felt I should write a little feature about it for the guys over at Thumbsticks. It rants a little bit about Dead Space (which I’m playing at the moment and absolutely loving), so bear with it if you can. As always, all criticisms and honest opinions are welcome. A preview for the article is below, but just click on the ‘more’ button for the full written article.

Exploring the U.S.G Ishimura in Dead Space genuinely frightens me. Not because of its excellent lighting, deadly monsters or sense of desperation, but because the soundtrack is note perfect. Resident Evil 5 and Left 4 Dead 2 offer great opportunities to blast zombies to pieces, but they rarely creep you out or disturb you. After much deliberation, the only video game element I can put this down to is the gorgeous audio present in EA’s space survival horror.

The creaks and groans of the floorboards below force the player to check their footing. Metallic footsteps that dent the ventilation shaft above will leave you apprehensive of an impending attack. The scores as you explore the ship are often delicate and desolate, shifting to incredibly violent and dynamic strings as you empty the few bullets you have left into the limbs of a predator. The shifts occur at the precise moments needed to make them feel reactive and impulsive, also ensuring that they never feel unnatural and jarring. (More)

If you’ve got your own favourite video game compositions, by all means drop me a comment below. I’m likely to do a ‘Top 10″ list in the future that highlights some more of the best in gaming music. As usual, you can find a lot of my video game journalism over at Thumbsticks – otherwise just track my gaming habits with my gametag ‘JetSetNick’ on Xbox Live.
JetSetNick

Assassin’s Creed 2: Battle of Forli

jetsetnick — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:43:58 +0000

I’ve become quite attached to Ezio Auditore and the renaissance period that he inhabits. So much in fact, that I snapped up the DLC without even reading the number of Microsoft Points that it would cost me. I’ve mentioned my review of Assassin’s Creed 2 earlier in my blog, but below is a quick update on the new additional content. For the full written article, just click on the ‘more’ button.

There was an entire chapter missing from Assassin’s Creed II that I never noticed or cared to enquire about. Sequence 12 is known as the Battle of Forli and was originally scrapped by Ubisoft due to time constraints. It’s now been brought back as DLC, but adds very little to the overarching experience or grandeur of Ezio’s quest.

You may have noticed that in the retail version, not a lot really happens in Forli. It features only as a small sightseeing tour, with our resident assassin learning the very mundane technique of operating a gondola. The brief meeting with the leader of Forli, Caterina Sforza, suggests a possible love interest and a grander role later in the game – but this amounts to nothing. (More)

The second installment of DLC known as “Bonfire of the Vanities” will be released later in February. It’ll cost about 520 Microsoft Points and include three additional Templar hideouts (one of which, the Arsenal Shipyard, was released with the UK limited edition version). As usual, I’ll have my opinions on it written as soon as i’ve played it. Until then!
JetSetNick

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

jetsetnick — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:06:45 +0000

I’ve finally powered my way through Spirit Tracks and managed to get a review uploaded to the ThumbSticks website. The game exceeded my expectations and features some fantastic dungeon puzzling, so I highly recommend it to anyone who owns a Nintendo DS. There doesn’t appear to be that many high profile DS games to get excited about this year, so Spirit Tracks is well worth looking into. The preview for my review is below, but you can read the full article by just clicking on the ‘more’ button.

Nintendo has kept the future of Link surprisingly quiet over the past six months. With the next dedicated Wii Zelda still a long way off, fans of Hyrule have been treated to two hand-held offerings to fill the void.

Phantom Hourglass was released on the Nintendo DS in 2007 and now gamers have been treated to Spirit Tracks. With little marketing and an identical engine, players have been understandably sceptical that this sequel is just an unoriginal stepping stone to tide us over. So does Spirit Tracks fly like the bullet train or splutter like the London Underground? (More)

Having never finished the Gamecube title The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker, I just picked it up at my local CEX for the bargain price of £4. I’ll be doing a retro review of it next, so look out for my initial impressions here on my blog. Until next time!
JetSetNick

Spirit Tracks Nostalgia

jetsetnick — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:21:59 +0000

There’s something ever so friendly and familiar about starting a new game on The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Whether it’s inputting your custom name for Link or visiting the Castle of Hyrule, everything feels as it should be. It’s as if your returning home after having spent a long vacation overseas. Normally I would criticise a game for resting on its laurels and refusing to improve its design structure, but somehow Nintendo makes it appealing. Many of the ‘Big N’s’ other portable franchises do the same; for example, in Pokemon you always will begin by receiving your first creature from Professor (insert random tree name here) in his laboratory. Logic yearns for me to hate the lack of creativity in these game designers but I wouldn’t want it be any other way – because it’s still incredibly fun.

The sense of nostalgia and familiarity taps perfectly into the mindset of Zelda fanboys like myself. Link is an elderly hero in the video game universe, dating back farther than most modern protagonists dare. Nods of approval in updated sequels such as Spirit Tracks act as a homage to the classics preceding it; a gaming insider’s reward for our loyalty to the house of Mario. Yet whilst the core remains the same, Eiji Aonuma walks the tightrope of originality by offering fresh gameplay mechanics, gadgets and puzzles. The first dungeon in Spirit tracks is memorable and spooky, but evolves with the whirlwind device that requires you to blow into the microphone. Traversing the world of Hyrule summons the same iconic imagery of adventure, only this time it’s aboard a train rather than Link’s trusty steed. It’s still the classic Triforce that we love and expect… just updated.

I’m a little way through The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (I’ve just entered the snow kingdom), but I’m already enjoying it as a portable outing. My brief session on Phantom Hourglass left me admittedly uneducated on the raw power that a Zelda title can churn out of the Nintendo DS. The size of the over world matches the scope of most rival RPG’s on the system, but trumps them by opting for a full 3D environment. By utilising the cel-shaded design that originated on the Gamecube’s Windwaker, Aonuma has cleverly managed to strip away all the detail and still retain delicate visuals. The art direction is perfectly suited to the title’s family audience, the wide array of colours and pastels conjuring a binary scene to the grim atmosphere in Twilight Princess.

Some of the cut scenes are a little ropey due to the minimal voice acting and heavy use of text boxes. This has become a running convention in the Legend of Zelda series though and will probably be maintained for many sequels to come. Suddenly giving Link some unexpected vocal chords would understandably shock and alter the voice that gamers have been forced to imagine over the years. The soundtrack is beautifully composed, with cheerful country pan pipes running as a theme throughout. Balanced between chiptune and a full blown orchestra, it does an effective job of updating Zelda’s classic audio themes.

Until I’ve finished the title I won’t offer a full written review, but I can vouch that it’s certainly one of the best Nintendo DS games that came out last year. Whether you’re a veteran of Hyrule or a complete newcomer, the scale and care that has been put into this game is well worth your attention.

JetSetNick

ODST Lacks Satisfaction

jetsetnick — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:20:39 +0000

The iconic green suit of Master Chief looks incredibly boring to me. Take on the role of a space marine, murder lots of aliens, watch a cutscene and repeat. Sorry Bungie, but I’ve been there and done it before in dozens of other first person shooters. This is perhaps why I’ve never been drawn to the Halo series, Microsoft’s behemoth whose fame has only recently been eclipsed by Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty. Nothing about it seems particularly fresh or original; the weapons feel too familiar and the sci-fi setting is generic and cliched. Yet despite these observations, I wasn’t going to whine until I’d actually gone hands-on with one of Halo’s instalments. So I picked up Halo 3: ODST, presuming that the latest iteration would also be the most polished. All of my previous fears proved correct.

The budget behind Bungie instantly shows. The narrative starts with a well established cutscene, the immaculate voice acting and animation models giving substantial life to the squad of ‘Orbital Drop Shock Troopers’. The characterisation of Buck and Dare must also be commended, their angry banter imitating a very realistic love/ hate relationship within the battlefield. Even the structure of the game is thought provoking, flipping backwards and forwards in time as you discover and immerse yourself in the memories of your team mates. Yet despite all of these graces, I couldn’t help but feel that there was a lack of heart in ODST. New Mombasa is a desolate cliche, lifeless and desperately trying to imitate Fallout 3’s Washington D.C. Sorry Bungie, but Bethesda Game Studios have not only beaten you to the punch, but done it drastically better.

Certain crucial gameplay mechanics also appear to be missing. Without any form of sprint ability, you’re often left plodding through the city at a crawl, toggling the VISR HUD on and off out of sheer boredom. The exemption of natural cover leaves you constantly in the danger of enemy fire, forcing you to strafe from left to right and shoot in a pop-up arcade fashion. Carrying only two weapons is another frustration, the non-existance of ammuntion causing the player to ditch and switch weapons at every oppurtunity. At one point I grew rather fond of my silenced sub-machine gun, dispatching multiple covenant with ease as I hoped to defend my outpost. Once I has dispensed my miniscule magazine I was forced to run around the entire level uprotected, checking all of my enemies until I could finally find someone with a firearm slightly more powerful than a pistol.

The variety in mission types kept my interest piqued, but it all came to a close far too quickly. The campaign is over in literally six hours. I don’t care if this was originally meant to be an expansion pack or a piece of DLC, that’s simply far too short to warrant a full price tag. The inclusion of Halo 3 multiplayer maps (which i’m sure most people had before ODST was released anyway) doesn’t sweeten the deal for me in the slightest. Collectible audio files help to lengthen the experience, but they’re not dependent enough to the progression of the plot and feel like an afterthought by someone who had recently played Bioshock.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh on the Halo franchise. Not every game can match the pedigree of Fallout 3 and Gears of War, but I’ve always felt that the adventures of Master Chief would be one such a series. Halo Reach is quite possibly the last instalment for Bungie and will be a testament as to how the franchise will be remembered. As it stands, there’s a lot more work to be done.

JetSetNick

5 Things To Do With Your New PSP

jetsetnick — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:38:06 +0000

The team over at ThumbSticks has asked me to write a beginner’s guide to utilising the Sony PSP’s full potential. Each staff writer has been assigned a different console with the hope that we will end up with an extensive hardware database; now that Christmas has passed, we feel that many gamers will probably be wondering what to do next with their brand spanking new machine. Researching this piece was enjoyable and informative, as the process actually taught me how to use my own PSP in new and exciting ways. A preview of the article is below, but just hit the ‘more’ button if you want to read it in its entirety;

The portable behemoth nestled in your hands has unlimited media potential. The widescreen display and external memory offers high class consumption of video games, movies, music and photographs. Sony’s tiny user manual rarely addresses these issues in great detail though, with only a few pages devoted to explaining the capabilities of the hardware. Many gamers who have received the Sony PSP for Christmas will have played their first UMD game and be wondering what to do next. With so many homebrew and customisation websites to pore over, it can arguably feel a little daunting. Well have no fear, because below is a handy ThumbSticks guide to getting the most out of your PSP. (More)

If you have any suggestions for features or upgrades that I may have missed, feel free to plug them below. I love my PSP, but know that there’s a wealth of homebrew fanatics that have taken the console much further than just the commercial game market. Be sure to keep checking back to ThumbSticks for the other ‘5 Things To Do’ features, as they will no doubt be more journalistically comprehensive than mine.

JetSetNick

Podcast Episode 26: Raunchy

jetsetnick — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:54:55 +0000

In my second ThumbSticks podcast, I join Adam and Dan to discuss what our gaming antics were during the Christmas period. Perhaps not surprisingly, I had relatively little to contribute apart from my completion of Assassin’s Creed 2 and continual progression of Half Life 2 (I haven’t been playing much else!). Other than this, we analyse some of the big game releases over the next couple of months and generally have a lovely catch up.

The ThumbSticks podcast is available from the iTunes store

Podcasts are an amazing way to keep up with video game culture and critique. Often free of charge, I regularly download a number of my favourite shows to my iPod and listen to them on the way to work, brightening an otherwise dreary walk. ThumbSticks is one of a few gaming podcasts with a slightly older and british angle, differentiating themselves considerably from the mass of American pre-teen rivals. As always, it would be great to hear your comments on how I did. You can access the podcast here.

JetSetNick