For the first time we’re seeing an indie bundle provider donate all the money to charity. Indie Royale have take the plunge with four games and three albums if you pay more than the average which at the time of writing hasn’t even reached the spiralling heights of £3!!

Amongst the titles is Osmos which was nominated for four IGF awards and was part of PAX 10. So, if you’re feeling charitable then pop over to Indie Royale and donate some of your cash to the needy.

Indie Past – InMomentum

Think Mirrors Edge but faster and more dynamic.

Sometimes I feel that Mirrors Edge was highly underrated and that also makes me wary of comparing InMomentum to it but, like a word association game, I couldn’t help but compare the two as soon as I saw it.

InMomentum consists of a load of maps floating around in the sky that you have to race through, collecting objects and moving through gates as you go. As you would expect from any good racing game worth its salt, there are multiple paths to each gate and to the finish. The reason I compare it to Mirrors Edge is down to the running aspect. The running is dynamic and slick which leads to you rarely taking the same path to the finish line twice.

To add to the excitement there’s a jumping bonus too. Think back to the early days of the FPS where in Quake, a precisely timed jump would yield a bonus, taking you that bit farther. InMomentum does the same thing and jumping can take you to new heights and you’re often rewarded with faster race lines.

Single player races are available but this game is at its most rewarding when you challenge other players to how good you really are. Or in my case, how shit you really are.

Indie Present – Dynamite Jack

Tricks and traps aplenty.

I never really thought that a plan view game in glorious 2D could really cause high blood pressure but Dynamite Jack creates more tension than a badger baiting debate at an animal rights parade.

Dynamite Jack consists of a number of short levels and your goal is to reach the light and move on to the next level. Getting the most out of the game involves being as stealthy as possible. There are achievements for not killing the guards you encounter but if you’re a murderous wretch then you can plant huge bombs, that even in the brightest light, the guards don’t see. No guilty conscience here.

When the levels start you don’t have anything at all but you quickly find a flashlight (check me and my inner American), and then a detonator. The detection system in the game is simple. If you make noise with your bombs, the guards will move toward the sound. If you move in the light, they will shoot you. This is just the start of it because there are plenty more traps and gimmicks to be aware of.

Great game to just pick up when you have five mins and it’s cheaper than an Americano and apple doughnut from your local Starbucks.

Indie Future – Running with Rifles

Addictive with loads of action.

Modulaatio Games are working on their latest top down shooter title, Running with Rifles. Initially you start as a private and as you gain rank you also gain influence over your NPC allies. Your squad will grow and the AI will recognise your actions and behave accordingly which is behaviour that you would expect in Call of Duty or Rainbow 6, not necessarily an Indie title.

Running with Rifles doesn’t have quite as many guns as Borderlands but there’s a great selection of assault rifles, shotguns, light machine guns and explosives so applying tactics is important. All those guns plus varying ranges of cover fire makes this game exciting.

Visually, the game has a cartoon style feel to it with a cell shaded approach which I have a weakness for. Speech bubbles appear when the characters are speaking which is fine apart from when the screen is stacked with soldiers because it gets a bit cluttered.

I’ve had the pleasure of getting in early on this and it’s a lot of fun. After speaking to Pasi Kainiemi, the developer behind Running with Rifles, it looks as though the game could be delayed until the third quarter before it’s released which surprised me somewhat. The changes that the game has undergone so far are great so I can’t wait for the final product.

A cracking week for Indie bundles if you haven’t heard about them. We have the Indie Royale Spring Bundle which includes the Unstoppable Gorg title, a tower defence game influenced by outer space and circles. The great thing about this is that Unstoppable Gorg is only a few months old but what’s even better is the Humble Botanicula Bundle which strangely includes Botanicula, not only in the name but in the list of games too. This is the first time I’ve seen a newly released title in an Indie bundle. Nearly as shocking as a pastry making cannibal but long may it continue.

Indie Past – Machinarium

The first title I’m going to briefly talk about was influenced by this week’s Indie Present title, Botanicula, and that’s Machinarium by Amanita Design who are an indie developer based out of the Czech Republic. Machinarium is included in the Humble Botanicula Debut bundle.

Machinarium is based in what appears to be a futuristic post apocalyptic wasteland and you play the part of a robot who can stretch his body like Mr Fantastic to reach items that would otherwise be out of reach. It’s a point and click adventure puzzle game where you have to manipulate your environment to reach your goals and move on.

Mystical and metallic sounds that interact with you make the game most enjoyable and once you add some excellent animation you are onto a winner. Machinarium was highly acclaimed and if you look back to 2009 then you’ll soon discover that as well as being loved by critics such as Rock Paper Shotgun and Gamespot it also won an award in the Indie Games Festival for Excellence in Visual Art.

If you search the Google real hard >cough<by typing in Machinarium>cough< you can get a demo in your browser.

Indie Present – Botanicula

Kicking up a stink that’s worse than a skunk on vindaloo is Botanicula. This game was available for $10 on GoG and GamersGate but within a couple of days you could get it on the Humble Botanicula Debut bundle and pay whatever you want for it. This has a massive QQ going out from the people who paid full whack for it.

Anyway, less about the controversy and more about the game!

It’s taken the Excellence in Audio award at this year’s Independent Games Festival which is truly well deserved and it was only just beaten in the visual category by the game that isn’t really a game, Dear Esther. Personally I think Botanicula should’ve received that award too because it’s quirky and nothing like anything else I’ve seen in games.

Your goal is to lead a band of pretty yet cowardly specimens through caverns, plants and trees, solving puzzles to try a beat down some colour draining parasites and eventually save the last seed from their home tree.

A point and click adventure that had my wife, son and me figuring out the puzzles and admiring all the idiosyncratic insects and plant life.

Indie Future – Stasis

John Maracheck, the protagonist, regains consciousness and finds himself in an abandoned research facility and not only does he not have a clue where he is, he doesn’t know where his wife and daughter are. OK, so Stasis isn’t going to win any awards for a compelling background story but it is beginning to shape up to be a really nifty futuristic, but old school, isometric adventure game.

Another point and click adventure game that carries an inkling of Dead Space so if you’re a fan or sci-fi survival horror then Stasis is a game to keep an eye on.

Before I get into this edition of the Indie Insider, I want to throw a bonus game your way if you haven’t had the chance to see it yet and it’s MariO. Two very classic games in a mash up, Mario and Portal. The majority of the game is Mario based but this time the plumber has a portal gun. A ton of fun for the imaginative gamer and what’s even better is it’s a free download.

Indie Past – Hard Reset

Massive Guns. 75% screen viewing. What more can a man ask for?

Back in the middle of September 2011 we saw Hard Reset get released. A FPS developed by Flying Wild Hog, a Polish studio comprised of developers who came from the likes of CD Projekt Red, City Interactive and People Can Fly, the team behind Painkiller.

Hard Reset is like an old school first-person shooter. A Cyberpunk style game that brings back the good old fashioned twitch gaming. No need for a cover system, just crack open your best strafing skills and the big guns then you kill anything that moves. I love it because some of the guns are so big they block out a large area of the screen but they pack a mean blast.

Visually the game reminds me of the first time I saw the Bladerunner movie. I felt absorbed and drawn into the future. Bright lights, enemies steeped in science fiction, with surroundings that deserve to be admired even through the fast paced action.

Indie Present – Waveform

Physics? NO! Fun and original Indie game? YES!

If there was ever a game that took me back to a physics class, working on an oscilloscope then it’s Waveform. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not boring like physics and it’s probably not as confusing but the first impression pulls me back to 18 years ago, pinging elastic bands at the teacher and failing the subject.

There are some great Indie titles coming out of Canada these days and Eden Industries haven’t failed to impress. Waveform is an arcade style game that places you in charge of a… waveform, funnily enough. You have to use your mouse to adjust the wave so you can pick up objects in your pursuit to save the galaxy.

It’s great in the way that you can literally pick it up as quickly as a single Wario Ware puzzle but it’s also satisfying enough to draw you in and make you strive for perfection. Initially you will only be trying to grab everything as you move along but a couple of levels in and you have to start avoiding other, slightly more destructive, objects to complete your objectives.

The games looks great and the idea may seem too simple to enjoy but it has a very original concept behind it. Background music has a very sci-fi electronica feel to it and it’s not really there for distraction. Available on Steam, it’s certainly worth a look at only £4.49.

Indie Future – Dust: An Elysian Tail

No, the screenshot isn't broken; it's another awesome move from Elysian.

Just about to get its first public viewing at PAX East, Dust: An Elysian Tail is a 2D scroller hack ‘n’ slash action RPG (that common genre). It looks as though it’s going to have a similar flare to Devil May Cry combat with a variety of button slaps which lead to an extremely satisfying foray with chain bonuses thrown in for the hardcore. Hand animated with a delightful colour palate it appears to be very easy on the eye with a narrative that will appeal to multiple age groups.

From what I’ve read, the game has been in development for a few years and was included in Gamasutra’s list of games to look out for in 2011, so hopefully they’ve been ironing out the kinks and have some awesome footage to show at PAX. Winner of the Dream.Build.Play away in 2009 just accentuates the fact it’s been kicking around for a while.

I still haven’t figured out if the game is about a tail or a tale! Maybe it’s an Americanism that I haven’t encountered yet but for the most part it’s more about a story than the hindmost part of an animal, especially one forming a distinct, flexible appendage to the trunk. In saying all that, the protagonist could be called Elysian Tail! Let’s hope the game isn’t as confusing as the title.

A-Men tells the tale of five dudes crossing 40 levels of puzzle mayhem. Your enemy consists of A-droids that vary from very dumb, through annoying, to the down right intelligent. Your goal is to kill A-droids by using explosives, bridges, lifts and a selection of prepared traps and once you meet the target you can escape in a chopper driven by THE most stereotypical American surfer dude known to man, who actually drove me round the bend until I just had the subtitles turned on!

Outside of the annoying ’surfer dude’ the audio just isn’t dynamic at all. There is a limited amount of phrases that each character has that can get mind numbingly boring within a few stages of meeting them. Passing specific areas of each stage triggers the same phrase and if that particular part of the level isn’t annoying enough all you have to do is sprinkle the same unfunny joke over the top of it to make you turn it off.

Anyway, bringing in the chopper doesn’t mean you have to leave because there are always more droids to kill if you want to. Each level has a set of bonus conditions to meet which don’t have to be done in one sitting offering a load of replayability to the game. Possibly one of the most addictive parts of playing A-Men is going back and trying to beat your previous scores. So much so, I’m still messing around with the earlier levels instead of progressing as far as possible.

The bonus objectives include challenges such as trying to kill the first A-droid in under a specified time, killing all the droids, completing the level within a certain time limit, trying to finish the game without using explosives and much, much more. Not only that but your attempts at each stage are scored starting at ‘S’ which is the top score and you work your way down. Your timing and order in which you execute your traps is essential to high scores and occasionally you’ll find yourself having to reset and start the stage again. It’s not too frustrating, especially if you’ve played any sort of puzzle mobile gaming in the past.

Apart from ‘it was only funny the first time’ personalities, the rest of the game is pretty good. The audio is good, the personality of the droids is quite amusing and the levels look really nice. The graphics aren’t too adventurous but they are neat and precise.

Control wise, A-Men works well with a rotating menu at the right hand side of the screen that dynamically changes depending on your location. For example, if you’re standing by a bridge and have dynamite your primary choice will be just that with other options slightly faded but still available through rotation of the menu or using those good old fashioned buttons. When you’re under time pressure, and trying to achieve those extra goals on each level, the rotating menu can be a bit clumsy and take time to get what you need but other than that they’re fine.

In the last Indie Insider I spoke about the IGF 14th Annual Indie Game Competition. Well, the voting is now closed so it won’t be long until we find out who reigns supreme in the competition. I can’t wait!

Indie Past – Stealth Bastard

Well, with a name like Stealth Bastard Tactical Espionage Arsehole what’s not to like? The name’s like a tractor beam and after playing a couple of levels, the game is the same. Old school retro style graphics in a 2D platformer keeps the look simple and while the game looks the same, it can get quite challenging.

You play the part of a spy traversing levels that each have a neat selection of obstacles to look out for. Challenges consist of cameras that set off traps if you’re spotted and robots that are pissed off and hate you, to name a couple. Hacking terminals to open doors and drop objects in strategic areas are skills that you need to master early on to make progression.

The community around this game from Curve Studios is excellent. Not only is the game free for PC users, it includes a level editor. Once you’ve formed your masterpiece you can upload it to a huge pot of other players’ creations too which extends Stealth Bastards longevity.

One final point for anyone who instantly dismisses this game because they don’t have a power horse of a PC. The game doesn’t require much oomf at all so even the more feeble machines can have their moment of glory.

Indie Present – Vessel

I have been raving about Vessel for a while and now it’s available on the PC. It’s coming to XBLA and PSN at some point but the dates haven’t been announced yet. The sooner the better from what I’ve played already!

Since talking about it on my last indie blog I’ve managed to get my hands on a copy and so far I haven’t been disappointed. The puzzles are great and the answers aren’t as straight forward as they seem. At the very start of the game you get a quick glimpse of just how cheeky your Fluro companions can be and they just don’t change.

The first example shows you getting locked out of your house by one Fluro then you’re constantly plagued by them trying to turn out any lights you turn on. All you have to do, as M Arkwright, is manipulate each Fluro’s personality to suit your needs and get to the next room. New, puzzling mechanisms are injected into the game at strategic points and they play and excellent part of keeping your interest peaked.

Very pleasant to both look at and listen to you could be forgiven for stopping mid game just to admire your surroundings. Strange Loop Games well and truly deserved a slot in the 2010 IGF Technical awards because it’s very easy to get drawn in to the game’s beauty.

Indie Future – Gunpoint

Recently I was lucky enough to get early access to Gunpoint which is a puzzle game that really gets you thinking. Tom Francis, the man behind the game, realises that there are plenty of gamers out there who are more intelligent than him so Gunpoint has been created to allow people with flare to get carried away with solutions for each stage.

Excellent witty banter matched with thought provoking gameplay is a recipe that I hope brings Tom huge success with his first title.

As well as being a developer Tom Francis is also  a games critique, which is a combination I have never encountered before. I wonder what does a critic do to a game to make it as damn near perfect as possible and what would he say about his game in a review?

Nathan Drake, our cheeky and somewhat spawny protagonist, returns and as you would expect, gets drawn into another treasure hunt leading deep into caverns of Argentina. Jason Dante is an old but greedy friend of Nathan Drake and you’re teamed up with him at the start of the game. Jason doesn’t really stand of much of Nathan’s back chat and you can detect some friction from the start. Eventually, as the game pans out, you meet a girl called Chase. Well, her real name is Marissa but only her world famous archaeologist grandfather is allowed to call her that. Dante eventually gets dragged into some sinister activities with an evil army general known as Guerro and the story unfolds from there.

The characters, as you would expect, all have very individual and attractive personalities, making the story more compelling as you get into it. Chase, the innocent and pure, never carries a gun, Dante is all about the money and never really sides with anyone and Nathan Drake comes fully armed with intrepid and playful one liners. Lines said to Chase such as, ‘Those jeans… they fit well’ and other deliveries of fine lines can be expected throughout. The game almost jokes about itself with some of the comments which had me laughing out loud on a busy train of all places!

In my opinion some of the best dialogue comes not long after Sully, Nathan’s counsellor and coach, arrives on the scene. Boasting about historic female conquests and a game of ‘That’s what she said’ tennis had me chortling at every return.

All of this helps because Uncharted: Golden Abyss has a colossal amount of gameplay. Platforming, shooting, puzzling, to name just a few of your choices extends gamplay by a huge amount. With 34 chapters for the story it’s already epic but add onto that all the collectibles to find, secret areas to explore, charcoal rubbings to gather and much more, I’m sure you get the picture.

Not only that but the gameplay makes great, and unobtrusive, use of the new features of the PS Vita. Most of the additional controls are optional bar a few, giving you the option to stick to standard joystick and buttons or use of the rear and front touch screen. The rear touch screen can be used for ascending and descending ladders or ropes. The front screen can be used for slashing quick time events, opening combination locks or traversing walls or vines.

Climbing with the touch screen involves drawing lines across your screen forming a path for Nathan to follow. Often it’s the safest and best option because you reduce jumping and longer drops. The game does keep you safe, though, by not letting you use the drop button when there is nowhere to drop to. The same goes for shooting enemies when climbing walls and ropes. I ran out of ammo a couple of times but you are automatically given some ammo to tide you over until you reach a safer place.

Guns, guns, guns. More guns than you can shake a stick at. You can only carry two guns at a time and that includes one chunky weapon that can be anything like a Moss 12, M4, SAS 12 shotgun, a Dragon sniper or my favourite, the FAL and a handgun. These are also varied, going from a standard pistol to a ‘one shot’ WES 44. Add a sprinkling of explosives and and mini guns and you have enough arsenal to mow down a small army, which is exactly what you have to do.

There isn’t a huge variant in enemies but you do get a mix of close combat shotgun brutes, snipers, mini gun maniacs and general guys with handguns and assault rifles. Taking cover is something that they do well and occasionally they use different angles of approach and grenades to flush you out. Nothing too challenging but on the flip side of that, it’s not too easy either.

If there’s is anything that drags Uncharted: Golden Abyss down, its the format. Whilst the dialogue, visuals, choice of weapons and locations are excellent, the layout of the game has been slightly done to death. Archaeologist knows slightly twisted bad guy, goes on the hunt for hidden underground treasures, finds them then the bad guy comes in to take all the credit. We’ve seen it countless times through Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider but I supposed the question is, how do you come up with something original? There are countless mysteries in history that have been and are yet to be discovered but there comes a breaking point where these games will only be interesting to people who want to learn more about historical events.

Well it’s all GO! GO! GO! just now in the Indie world with the voting open over at the 14th Annual Independent Games Festival. Some of the titles look absolutely brilliant and if you’re not sure where to start with Indie games then this is a great place to start. Dear Esther by TheChineseRoom is all over the place and you can go and grab it now.

Without further ado lets go have a look at Indie’s past, present and future.

The Indie Past – Frozen Synapse

Still winning awards to this day.

Frozen Synapse from Mode7 has been around for quite a while now and it was reviewed by our very own Kami back in May 2011. I can honestly say it’s one of the most persistent games in the Indie category just now because if Mode7 aren’t pushing out updates and music, they’re attending seminars about what it’s like to be an Indie developer. Sometimes I wonder if they’ll ever find the time for a new release and I really hope they do.

If you haven’t had the chance to play Frozen Synapse then you can pick it up on the PC or the iPad. It’s a tactical turn based shooter that forces you to consider each and every angle of approach for your team. Different guns lead to different puzzles and whilst I’m still playing the game I’m constantly being surprised by what people invent and inject into their tactics.

While you painstakingly calculate every step you have to consider weapon range and power. Do you sacrifice quick movement so you can move while you scope or just take a chance a run for the corner ignoring everything around you? Should you crouch to avoid being seen? There are so many aspects to the game that it just keeps people coming back for more. No two games are ever the same.

The Indie Present – Kingdom Rush

This is a must play.

Kingdom Rush is a free to play tower defence browser based game… phew, take a breath! It draws you into the mental state that some people refer to as ‘Just One More Shot!’ and you, if you’re human, will find yourself playing the game for hours on end.

It’s a medieval ’slash’ fantasy based game, pitting your wits against endless (not really) waves of enemies who have an ever expanding box of tools to counteract your abilities. Your goal, is to gain three stars per level and upgrade the towers made available to you in between rounds. As you progress the maps become more challenging and placing your towers and other miscellaneous tools becomes increasingly important.

It’s a browser game that allows you local saves so you don’t have to restart every time you fancy a shot. Also, you can, if you’re feeling flush, spend some sheckles to gain premium content and if the game isn’t mobile enough for you then it’s available on iPad too.

The Indie Future – Vessel

A beautiful looking game.

A game I’ve been following closely for a long time now is Vessel from Strange Loop Games. Strange Loop Games have been working very hard on releasing Vessel to the masses and it looks as though we’ll see it in March on the PC. It will be coming to PSN and XBLA but there are no release dates yet for that.

You’ll play the part of M. Arkwright, an inventor, who has some problems on his hands. The puzzles are all based around using Fluros to go places that humans can’t reach. Fluros are made of water and they are an invention of Arwright’s. The whole game is based around water. You will capture it in your backpack and disperse it when necessary. Fluros have different colours and you’ll have to exploit their different personalities to progress.

With fluid sounds and beautiful visuals Vessel is an Indie game that just shouldn’t be missed.

We’re just about to witness history in the making with the first PS3 title coming out of India from Version2Games. We’ve had the chance to catch up with Rajat Ojha and talk about all things Smash ‘N’ Survive and what the future holds for Version2Games.

Ready Up: Introduce yourself and tell us a little something about Version 2 Games.

Rajat: Well, I’m Rajat Ojha and I’m the President of Version2Games Limited. We are a fairly new studio and we started around 18 months ago back in September 2010. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Zen Technologies Limited which is India’s number one and one of the the world’s most renowned simulator development company. We are based in Hyderabad, India.

Ready Up: Version 2 Games take the proud place of being the first developers in India to release a Playstation 3 title. What made you choose the PS3 and why do you think we’ve never seen PS3 games from India?

Rajat: Sony have always been helpful and they have some of the most supportive and technically strong teams. Microsoft doesn’t give their development kits to India so that choice never existed. Though this product is not directly a Sony product they sent their technical team to have a look at the game and discuss technical aspects of PlayStation 3.

PS3 development is expensive, requires a lot of patience and there are absolutely no resources available. We were lucky to have many technical people because of our simulation background who had the will and patience to learn PS3 development platform. Today we have a team which is well versed ib PS3.

Version2Games

Ready Up: The cars are looking great and there also appears to be a very clear divide between speed and brawn. Across the 30 cars that you have in Smash ‘N’ Survive what sort of attributes will the players be using to win against their opponents?

Rajat: The biggest factor will be the tactics so don’t go by just the look of the car. Each type of mission requires a particular type of car. You need to judge acceleration, handling, strength and the type of weapon the car has and if it’s suited for the current mission. Players have to plan the attack also as a head on collision is never good and then there are some weapons which don’t do damage to the opponents, just topples them, so you need to use it when they are near any big objects which will give them damage or where you can topple them, reverse quickly and smash them.

Ready Up: The gameplay trailer shows a lot of different environments. Other than just areas for killing other players, what can we expect to see?

Rajat: You can expect a wide variety of maps and they are best suited for various activities. There’s a lot of open area which you can use for chasing opponents, there are short cuts which you can exploit to reach other cars rather quickly and there are some hideouts which you can use for planned attacks.

Ready Up: In the videos that have been released I saw ‘bomb has been planted’ rolling across the screen which would insinuate that SNS isn’t just a car combat game. Can you give us some more information about the game modes and how they work?

Rajat: You nailed it. It’s not just a car combat game. It features many firsts in any car combat game. For example, you can plant a bomb at the enemy territory and avoid getting it diffused or your enemies can plant a bomb which you need to diffuse. There’s also territory control, and there’s team derby. There’s a mission where you have to escort your mate who’s low on health to a safe place from enemy dominated territory, there’s also a mission where you have to destroy the convoy which is protected by flame throwing cars and there are some typical car chase and destroy missions. You can play all these different modes which will occur in the campaign individually from unlockable game modes for quick fun or in versus against your friends.

Ready Up: I nearly didn’t get off the main page of snsthegame.com because I was head banging so my wife distanced herself. What style of music is the soundtrack based on and is it all original for the game?

Rajat: That’s really interesting and sorry for keeping you away from your wife. Generally the music is fast paced rock oriented. There was debate on using techno but it didn’t appeal to me because the game is so brutal. I actually wanted to have death metal but it was rejected by my team. One of the things I like about my team is that they are open about suggestion and criticism.

Ready Up: With Twisted Metal 2012 being released shortly what separates Smash ‘N’ Survive from it?

Rajat: All the mission types are very different. You can’t play Smash ‘N’ Survive with a mindless approach; you’ll be killed for sure. I’m a sucker for mindless fun but that was not what I wanted to make because that way, it directly competes with Twisted Metal or FlatOut. Our weapons are more melee or close ranged ones like blades, saws, plungers, electric shock, sonic boom and magneto repulsor unlike Twisted Metals’ guns and rockets. Smash ‘N’ Survive is totally different from Twisted Metal.

Ready Up: Now that Version 2 Games are building their relationship with Sony, what can we expect to see after Smash ‘N’ Survive?

Rajat: Expect a mind blowing adventure game next which will have visuals on par with the world’s best games and the gameplay is absolutely unique. I promise that no one has seen something like this before. We are also working on the design of game next to that and there’s no looking back for us. Smash ‘N’ Survive is our entry to the game industry and our future releases will establish our position in this industry.

Ready Up: Tell everyone where we can find more information about Version 2 Games and Smash ‘N’ Survive on the internet.

Rajat: We have our facebook pages: Version2Games and SNSTheGame.  Join those and keep yourself updated about us and give us feedback on how much you are liking our games and our studio.

Before venturing into the budget world I really didn’t have very high expectations. I mean, what do you want for £1.99, 69p or even for free? Surely there’s no way they can compare to games we’re spending £35 on, for example Batman Arkham City or Battlefield 3. Does a triple ‘A’ title automatically mean that it has to be on the latest generation of console or the highest spec PC?

Picture this: I’m sitting here after Christmas with a pile of Xbox 360 titles. I’ve managed to fight my way through Saints Row the Third and my current guilt building dust collector is Modern Warfare 3. What’s taking precedence over this epic game? Mainly Jetpack Joyride and Hard Lines with some Fractal on the PC thrown in. Sometimes I wish I discovered this world of treasures earlier. It could have saved me a fortune, or maybe just given me a larger pile of dust collecting epic games.

Big Price; Big Budget

So, I’m sitting in the office trying some title that I had been given and moaning about how some people expect to release titles on iOS and expect to ride on the back of the nostalgia train, pulling the money in behind them. I was then asked the question, ‘What do you expect from a game that cheap? Surely if you get half an hour out of it, it’s worth the money’.

It’s a valid point, after all it costs buttons to buy it. However, what about all the other games I’ve got that are absolutely top notch but for the same price. Are they under-priced or do developers simply strive for very high quality no matter what the price? A lot of development companies make up the money from having in-game purchases because after the initial spike of sales post-release it appears to be very difficult to get that back again. Unless you consider yourself a frugal gamer you could end up paying the same amount of money as you would have for a console title, or more.

Prices are being driven down too as time goes on. Top titles on iOS may go for 800 MS points on XBLA but only get 69p on Apple App Store because of the masses of games and applications being released on a weekly basis. Games get lost in the sea of madness and hidden treasures often rely on sites like Ready Up to get the exposure they need. With over 1 billion downloads from the App Store over Christmas it’s no wonder some titles disappear into the black hole.

Hard Lines. A great game with great gameplay and a low price.

I thought I would have been guilty of trying to compare games on iOS to my Xbox 360 but I never really find myself doing it. I suppose I’ve never really compared DS games to console games either. Mostly, PS3 and Xbox 360 games get put head to head but paths never cross the breakdown between console, mobile and handheld.

At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself the question, just because a game is free or cheap should you accept low quality? Personally, I don’t. I compare games around this price bracket and make my decision on that. Standards shouldn’t be low because the prices are low and if you look at the indie developers who are pushing boundaries and enjoying success and recognition, they’re breaking the mould and leading by example.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky starts out with a young girl, Estelle, and her father called Cassius. They find a boy called Joshua, injured in the wild, take him back to the house and so blossoms a budding family relationship. Your first part in the game is to guide a slightly older Estelle and Joshua through their training that leads to the membership of the Bracers Guild who are like a law enforcement type agency.

Early on in the game you discover that Cassius, the father, is the most respected member of the Bracers Guild and he gets called away on important business, leaving the kids to pick up his trashy missions in their home town. Cassius mysteriously goes missing and from there on in you are on a mission to discover what happened and are drawn into a deeply twisted political plot line.

Trails in the Sky is VERY intense with regards to dialogue so the Nihon Falcom Corp worked like Trojans to create characters that you’re instantly either drawn to or despise. Estelle suffers constantly from sexist remarks about how being a girl simply won’t do as part of the Bracer Guild. Joshua is very straight laced, coming up with facts like Stewie from Family Guy and trying to keep Estelle out of trouble.

Sherazard, who’s a tier above Estelle and Joshua in the guild, strikes me as being a highly skilled warrior who can hold her drink and wouldn’t mind spending some ‘quality’ time with Joshua alone. Another memorable member of the party is a Bard called Olivier who is nothing less than a bi-sexual menace who appreciates the arts. I’m sure I went to music college with plenty of these types.

Seven years ago this game would have looked stunning and even now the scenery is acceptable. Movement of the characters you control is very quick so even when you’re having to travel long distances it doesn’t feel like a drag. The enemy spotting system isn’t too old school either. You won’t ever walk along and jump into battle with what was an invisible enemy. I hate that! Enemies are slightly transparent and become clearer as you close in. One thing that took me a while to get comfy with was that enemies could engage in battle by bumping into members of the party who trail at the back of your queue. In most RPGs that I have played, fights start when contact is made with the leader of the pack, but once I stopped moaning about it, I adjusted and moved on with my life.

A major contributor to this game’s excellence is the combat system. Each and every enemy has their own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. A huge array of attacks and defences including ‘Play Dead’ and ‘Fall Asleep’, all add to the techniques you will use in fights. You have a range of attacks including melee, arts and crafts. A wide mixture of buffs, de-buffs and attacks. Learning an enemy weakness quickly is essential because none of them take it easy on you. Picking on your team mate with the lowest health and picking on your healer are favourite techniques of theirs.

Battle has a wheel system that shows you who is attacking next, meaning that you can easily pick the weakest or even the next enemy to attack. It also shows any bonus heals or buffs and who is due to get them next. Using what’s called the S-craft, which is a special attack, you can effectively skip the queue and move in on those buffs for your own evil doing.

The key to tweaking your character comes in what’s called the Orbments. This device allows you to set up your magical flavour and provide balance across your party. It adds a deep layer of tactics to your own battle system that merges well with other elements such as the knock back feature.

8 years old now

Back in 2003 we saw the release of Call of Duty. Who would of thought it would’ve become the beast it is today. id Tech 3 was the engine used back then, which has now moved up to id Tech 5. The Call of Duty franchise has been passed through developers hands like a dirty mag and the most recent Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 has exceeded $1 billion in sales which is impressive, not only in video games, but in the entertainment industry as a whole.

Coming in at an impressive decade are the following: Xbox, Halo and come the start of the year, Max Payne 3. If you’ve already played Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary then you will already appreciate the boundaries that Microsoft have pushed through. Looking at the visuals of Max Payne with his square face and stretched textures, he’s now a mean hombre who’s ready to kick ass with as many polygons as you can throw at him.

The impressive thing about all these titles is that they’re still going. There are are plenty of other titles still being developed but these are the ones that I have enjoyed and still play and the chances are that I’ll keep playing them as time moves on. However, this year there are a couple of titles to rule them all when longevity is being discussed.

Shigeru Miyamoto had a vision. He wanted to create the best cartridge games ever and during that journey some people would say he saved a failing games industry with his work.

Happy 25th birthday

Zelda is one of my favourite series of games and it’s currently celebrating its 25th anniversary. As part of the celebration, Nintendo have commissioned the London Symphony Orchestra to play classics from all the legendary titles. Eimear Noone has the honour of conducting the orchestra while they’re on tour and he holds Miyamoto in very high regard. He’s been quoted as saying, “Miyamoto-san was the epitome of tranquillity, joy and appreciation”.

A game that stretches even further back than Zelda is our beloved Italian plumber, Mario. Making his first appearance in 1981 in a Donkey Kong game he’s been with me through my childhood, adolescence and adulthood and now my children are playing Mario games too. These simple two-dimensional platform games have pioneered and influenced the genre for 30 years and are living proof that blood, gore, violence and bad language don’t have to be in a game to make it fun.

Mario Bros, was released in 1983 and was followed by Super Mario Bros in 1985. Miyamoto made, what appeared to be, huge advancements in gaming by changing colours in the background but was still limited to using the same sounds whether Mario was under water or on land. Such trivial things that are now taken for granted were seen as amazing feats.

Holy crap! If I felt old at the start of this blog, I feel ancient now. I didn’t realise how amazing some of these series were until I looked back and I’m sure that everyone must have a selection of games that have taken them through their gaming lives, no matter how short a time it’s been happening. Games are just like music in my eyes. A chance to remember people who have come and gone, or people I have met. If it wasn’t for gaming, two people from this site would never have met and Ready-Up may never have happened.

Roll in the Indie Bundles.

Pay What You Want

I had always disregarded Indie bundles. I mean, surely they can’t be as good as AAA blockbuster titles. It wasn’t until the Indie Royale Difficult 2nd Bundle that I decided to take the plunge and splash out a massive £2.50 for four titles. For anyone who isn’t familiar with how the Indie bundles work, you basically pay what you want. Yip, anything from I think 1 cent to as high as you want. There is something to watch out for though; if you buy a bundle for higher than the average then you normally get additional titles to play or game soundtracks. It varies from one bundle to the next.

What caught my eye was ‘Time Gentlemen Please’ which came as part of the bundle. Upon watching the video for the game I noticed that one well known site had scored it with a 9/10. My initial thought was that it must be based on some sort of other score ladder, surely an Indie title couldn’t be a top tier game?

On the same website I checked out a few more titles and it went a little something like this:

• Gears of War 3 – 8/10
• Uncharted 3 – 8/10
• Battlefield 3 – 8/10
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 – 8/10

The list goes on but looking at this I could have spent approximately £35 on each the above titles or around 65 pence for Time Gentlemen Please. This title isn’t a one off either. Games such as Frozen Synapse and VVVVVV have been very well received too.

Time for a 9? Nice Work

What is it that makes these game appeal to people? Is it the content you get for the money or are they simply great games? Most people now feel conditioned. If you aren’t spending over £25 on a game then it must be crap. How can a game that costs at most, a couple of pounds be entertaining?

Just in case you would like to dip your cheap toes into the Indie water then new bundles are coming out over the next month. Tomorrow we’ll see the Really Big Bundle then the Alpha Fund Bundle and finally the Xmas Bundle. Getting in early will save you money because the average is cheaper however sometimes waiting does get you more bang for your buck, it’s up to you.

I’m guilty of being narrow minded in the past but have vowed to change my ways and start to look at the bigger picture. Hopefully I will bring more enjoyment to what may turn out to be a bright and inexpensive gaming future.

As gameplay becomes smoother and explorable areas become more vast surely there are many new engines being tested and applied to the latest releases. Indeed there are! It appears that most of the top games have their own brand new engines apart from one. The recent release, RAGE, has the id Tech 5 engine driving it, The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim has the new Bethesda Creation engine and Battlefield 3 is sporting the crisp new Frostbite 2.

Creation: all explorable areas.

I haven’t had the pleasure of playing any of Skyrim yet however from what I’ve seen it looks nothing short of epic. The demo videos with Todd Howard narrating go into great detail about 3D modelling and landscaping. As for Battlefield 3 I have only played some of the Metro beta multiplayer level so it’s very difficult to judge with any sort of certainty. It looks good but I wouldn’t say great.

The game that I have had most exposure to is RAGE. Having played most of the game it looks great but falls short with areas that you can’t explore and textures that seem to render in front of your eyes. The question is, do you forgive and forget because it’s a new engine or do you slam the door on id Software and their new engine? Maybe consoles are being pushed too hard to squeeze out those precious frames per second that can make a game look perfect.

id Tech 5 : Not all explorable areas

I intentionally left out one last title and it’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. The reason I haven’t mentioned this is because the engine is still the same as its predecessor, Modern Warfare 2. Glen Scholfield, from Sledgehammer Games, has been quoted saying that he wants to deliver a game, not an engine. If you place Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 next to each other there have been significant changes in models, texture and animation but it’s still using the same vehicle to drive it all. This looks as though the engine for Modern Warfare 2 was of such a high calibre that it’s withstood the test of time.

I’m not sure what to conclude from all this. Does the Modern Warfare approach mean we can expect a higher quality of game because Sledgehammer Games haven’t spent valuable time improving the engine? Is id Tech 5 pushing consoles so hard now that the hardware can no longer handle what’s being thrown at it? There has been some speculation that we may see a new Xbox announced in 2012, however, Sony are adamant that the Playstation 3 has life in the old dog yet.

I am really enjoying the content that is being churned out presently and can’t wait to see what the future holds. I really hope we haven’t hit a plateau in the development process but I am sure some programming God out there will push the boat out to whet our appetites even further.

Recently, whilst working my way through Bastion, I found myself head bopping to the background music and not really paying that much attention to the game. Some of the music tracks through that game stand alone as great music, never mind helping to create any sort of tension or atmosphere.

A couple of days later Dan let me listen to the soundtrack that had been released for Bastion and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only did it bring back memories of game sequences but I enjoyed listening to it. The amusing thing is the warning on the Bastion website. You are well and truly warned that playing the album before the game could spoil some of the gaming experience.

Now, I might be wrong here but since I listened to the Bastion soundtrack I seem to have noticed a lot of them being released or due to be released alongside whatever game it’s associated to. A bit like when my wife was pregnant I thought every second woman I saw was pregnant too. Dark Souls has an album coming out, Batman Arkham City will have one as well. Going back a bit, Mirror’s Edge also has a great soundtrack.

I suppose it’s quite naive to think that these are the only four albums on the market for music. I was listening to a great podcast recently that’s hosted by a guy who specialises in game music. The first half of his podcasts seem to be dedicated to modern music played by bands, for example the Nine Inch Nails track for Quake that was written by Trent Reznor. The second half travels back through time having a look at more of the 8-bit material from past consoles such as the SNES.

What’s also great about the whole thing is that it’s not just some bunch of freelance musicians who have been drafted in to work their way through the game’s music score. The Batman: Arkham City album has some pretty big names like Panic! At the Disco, The Duke Spirit and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. This particular album has a collection of artists who have written their own songs around background stories of Batman which is different from say, the Bastion album which contained game music.

Thor: God of Thunder tells the story of Thor’s home world Asgard being under attack from what looks like an attack from Ymir the ruler of Niflheim. There is a tragedy during the attack that sends Thor into a rage, at which point he seeks revenge on Ymir and, being misled by his step brother Loki, opens a gateway to another world, unleashing demons whose only intent is to destroy Odin and Asgard.

Thor’s weapon of choice, as you would expect, is Mjolnir which is his enchanted hammer, and as you move through the game you begin to learn combinations to help you deal with the enemy. Progression opens rune slots on Mjolnir up to a maximum of four. These four slots can be filled up from a choice of up to 20 different runes that each contain a different buff like increasing your attack power once your health drops below 25% or increasing your aerial attack strength.

Thor also learns additional attacks including Mjolnir power-ups, whirlwind attacks and focused electrical and wind attacks. The use of 3D throughout the game lacks depth. Often I didn’t know if I was close enough to enemies so I could start pulling off a string of attacks. Plus, if I was trying to pull off the focused electrical or wind attacks, if my reticle got caught behind rocks then they simply didn’t work.

As well as increasing the power of Mjolnir you have three upgrade trees available that can either be purchased through coins gained via levelling or finding upgrade items throughout the game. The three trees are Might which gives you additional and increasingly more powerful attack chains, Valor which supplies maximum health increase and defensive skills and finally Storm which can help increase Thor’s mana – known as Odinforce in game  – or bonuses to combination points.

It doesn’t take long in the game until you become quite overpowered and you will also find an ‘I WIN’ combination that can deal with even the most powerful enemy. It’s unfortunate because when I originally started playing Thor: God of Thunder I got a warm God of War fuzzy feeling inside. It’s not quite of that calibre but there is quite a satisfying hack ‘n’ slash type feel to it. Mini boss fights and certain situations that require more power than normal introduce quick time events but even though they aren’t challenging, they’re tasteful and don’t take your eyes away from the action too much.

As you can imagine, once finding the ‘I WIN’ combination, the game can start to feel slow. Beating down every enemy with that move is monotonous but what makes it worse is the lack of variety of dynamics in the majority of the game. About the first 70% of the game includes the very same gameplay. Walking along corridors, reaching magically sealed walls, defeating all enemies, destroying the magical barrier and moving on.

Occasionally that monotony is broken with some flying scenes and early boss fights. In between each level there are some cool storyline still animation cartoons to keep you entertained and whilst the storyline is pretty predictable with some very cheesy voice acting, it is still slightly more-ish. I think that the RPG player in me, with all the collectables helping to increase my powers, managed to keep me playing but if you don’t have any staying power then you may not get to see the very best bits of the game.

Once you reach the part of Thor where you discover and obtain the secret to helping save Asgard the game starts to get good. A couple of boss fights that are reasonably challenging and interesting leads to the final battle where you get some team players who aren’t dumb AI. A true feeling of power overwhelms you and a sense of achievement settles in but having to wait so long to get to this stage is a mistake by the developers.

Aside from the developers, Gl33k who were responsible for audio in games like Age of Empires Online and the more recent Red Orchestra 2, are also the people who provided the audio for Thor: God of Thunder. Aside the cheesy heroic voice acting which may or may not be suitable for a Marvel based super hero game, I think some of the audio is the best I have heard in the Nintendo 3DS title so far. A lot of it is majestic and fits very well into the game and utilised the 3DS sound capabilities well.

Does the game have more to offer than just the one playthrough? There isn’t any multiplayer but I suppose on the 3DS this can be forgiven. Once you finish the first run through a new difficulty level is opened up called Ragnarok. Runes and an outfit that weren’t previously attainable gave me the urge to at least start another playthrough but whether I could handle it again is another question.

So along comes the news that World of Warcraft is going free to play and it caught my eye. I wouldn’t have to pay subs but the penalty for this would be on level cap. Instead of making it all the way to level 85 which is the Cataclysm level cap I could only get to level 20. The question that sat at the back of mind was, is this really for people who have already played the game?

When I played the game there were three main reasons for logging on:

1. The guild and the banter
2. Raids
3. PvP

I suppose this could mean that the free to play version of the game wasn’t really for me. I could join a guild but would it really be that good? There would be a ton of people trying out the game and not really understanding what was happening.

The biggest problem was not being able to enter decent raids to get cool gear and not being able to take part in the arena which can only be done if you are at the level cap. Instead I would be destined to wonder aimlessly in places I had already trodden to death and maybe create a twink character.

After all this contemplation I decided to install the game on my laptop to see what happened. I am glad to say that for the sake of my marriage I’m not really that bothered about the game any more. There have been a lot of changes but the noob areas are very much still noob areas. The free to play version doesn’t allow me to scratch that itch any more so it’s probably best left alone for my own safety.

There are other games that have introduced or are about to introduce free to play models. Conan Unchained is now free to play with a list of restrictions, however, there isn’t a level cap thus allowing you to explore the majority of the game content. City of Heroes is also planning a free to play model.

I think I stand alone on the opinion of World of Warcraft Free to Play being a let down because Blizzard have now released a free to play model with Starcraft II which may be worth trying. It’s certainly a future model for publishers and a field that I love to try out. Let’s face it, there’s nothing to lose apart from time.

It’s been a while since I played the first two episodes in  the series and wasn’t sure if I would still be as scared as I was and FEAR 3 does a very good job of making you think everything’s going to be all right. I don’t want to go into the story too much but at the start of the game, Fettel, the dead brother of Point Man helps him escape from Armacham Prison. Alma is pregnant and while the brothers have conflicting ideas on the outcome of this they work together to get to her.

Whilst the brothers work their way toward the epicentre of where Alma is in labour you encounter a number of different situations that keep you sitting on the edge of your seat. The Armacham Prison escape finds angry cell mates and empty cans being thrown in your path which even for a split second can take your eyes off the action. Once you escape and start working through the slums, which is reminiscent of the Rio level in Call of Duty Black Ops, guys start bursting out of doors with shotguns with only one purpose and that’s to blow out your brains.

As I said the first couple of levels don’t offer too much in the way of horror but then when you return to Fairport which is where the whole escapade started in FEAR, that’s when the nappies have to go on and you can only sit and hope that everything you hear isn’t emanating from the cupboard under your stairs.

With modern day FEARmongers it just wouldn’t be the same without getting a go in a mech. I have to admit that it was extremely overpowered and I didn’t die once when in it but I did feel like an unstoppable hero, mowing down anything from man to helicopter within the blink of an eye. Your arsenal in the mech consists of rockets, ground stomps and massively painful bitch slaps and you have to make sure the thing doesn’t overheat or you will have to wait until it cools down before firing again.

Overall the game looks excellent. Often with games that are supposed to instil fear I end up having to increase the brightness so I can get a decent view but I found the lighting to be perfect. Bullet wounds are grotesque followed with a dramatic death and comments like, ‘He’s wiping out the whole squad!’, or, ‘SHIT! He blew my arm off!’.

The AI of the enemy is enjoyable in that they aren’t dumb. Taking cover behind destructible walls and boxes, moving when they’re blown into tiny pieces to an alternate safe haven and dodging or blocking melee attacks are to name but a few satisfying moments against the enemy. If they take too much fire you will see their guns appearing from round corners or over the top of walls blind firing to try and slow you down.

The solo campaign could be criticised because of its length. While it is packed full of an intriguing  storyline it is still only eight chapters short but in its defence there is a HUGE amount of re-playability. FEAR 3 is almost like a RPG as you are scored and gain experience points based on a number of different aspects through each level. These include, aggression,  tactics, aptitude, psychic and target time. At the end of each level you gain kill, time, commando and clean run bonuses. Once you accrue enough experience points you gain a level and increase magazine size, adrenaline time and moves, plus more.

Other perks of the game include a really cool opening scene, a very imaginative background to the menus and if you fall prey to the enemy far too often the ‘resume game’ option goes straight to ‘difficulty level’ where you can drop a level to help you through. To top it all off you can go back through each level playing as Fettel. Fettel allows you to play with a whole new array of very, very shiny toys including possession of enemy soldiers and the down right rude, blowing them up.

When you have had enough of the single player campaign you can join in some multiplayer action. There are several modes available and Day 1 Studios have done an excellent job on them in my opinion.

My favourite so far would have to be Contractions. It’s like a celebration of Horde mode from Gears of War where you have to survive an ever increasing difficulty of enemy waves and Zombie mode from the Call of Duty series as you struggle to rebuild broken down barriers to slow down the enemy. There are weapons lying around each level but you have to be careful because they’re not abundant.

I have managed to play the game for about 95 hours now but only since my 40th hour did I realise that I was playing the game completely wrong. My characters were nowhere near as powerful as they could be, the armour and weapons that I was using just weren’t great. The only thing that I think was good was my party structure in that I had someone for buffs and distractions, another for healing, a tank for taking the damage and the inevitable glass cannon who can make huge strikes but take a Ken Dodd tickling stick to him and he’s rendered useless.

After carrying out some reading I had to make the decision whether or not to just drop the game and play something else or try to get my characters up to scratch. After all, 40 hours is quite a long time to find out that you haven’t been doing things correctly. 55 hours later I’m glad I stuck with it because all my parties are bigger and better plus I can take on larger challenges to gain even better gear.

Unfortunately this isn’t the first time I have done this! I remember playing World of Warcraft not long before the first expansion, The Burning Crusade, was released. I managed to level up my Warlock up to around level 48 which was only 12 levels away from the cap at that time.

From there I decided to create a rogue and levelled him up to 60 just in time for the release of The Burning Crusade. Also, at this point I decided to get my Warlock up to level 60 and when I went back to him I realised that he was really badly created as well. He may as well have been wearing jeans and a t-shirt and carrying around a wand bought from the local joke shop.

There is mixed opinion about game guides in that some people think they’re cheats, or game breakers and others think that spending the time making discoveries in games is the way forward. I suppose this is all down to opinion.

Personally I think that in some cases game guides can enhance your experience of the game you’re playing. I don’t think it’s good to pick it up as soon as you start a game and just work your way through it because it will take some enjoyment away. However, if you just pick it up for pointers then it can certainly help develop your game.

I think that the genre of the game has a big influence on whether I will read a guide before or after playing it. As I put more gaming years behind me I think that a lot can be said for being well educated before going into epic role playing games because generally you’re going to be there for the long haul anyway. As for other games, for example Call of Duty games, I don’t think there is such a requirement for guidance until you are well in to the game.

I am so out of touch with what’s going on in the free to play market. I still thought that it was just turn based browser games that gave new players a window of protection for a week before you were chewed up and spat out by the bigger players. I couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a wealth of games and genres to choose from with a few different publishers consistently pushing out top titles.

Don’t get me wrong, the graphics, sound and storylines are going to find it difficult to compete with triple A titles and the reason is obvious in that the budget isn’t there. The whole free to play model has to rely on players voluntarily putting their hands in their pockets and shelling out some hard earned cash. Monthly subscriptions or one time payments are much easier to deal with as a customer.

A friend and I have set out 10 free-to-play titles to work our way through and I think, as per usual, I have peaked too soon. The first on my list is Allods Online. It has just been released officially in the EU alongside the latest volume known as Astral Odyssey.

A lot of people say that this is a carbon copy of World of Warcraft but after playing it for a while I would have to disagree. Sure it’s set in a fantasy fiction world surrounded with similar quests but when you break down a lot of games to that level most of them are the same.

Take Call of Duty and The History Channel: Battle for the Pacific. Both games are first person shooters, you carry guns and kill people then complete objectives. You get my point.

One of the great things about Allods Online is the fact that once you level your character up you can build Astral ships and take to the skies to discover new areas and fight your enemies.

Other games I am going to try are Lord of the Rings Online, Aika, Elements of War and Champions Online. Later on this year there is a kick ass fighting MMORPG being released called Age of Wulin. As you can see I am certainly not running out of games to play and the great thing about free-to-play games is, if you don’t like one of them, just delete it and there’s no money wasted.

Only the other day I was sitting in the office with Dan and a couple of my other colleagues were discussing the cost of gaming. Not the price of consoles, peripherals, games and subscriptions but the hidden costs of high blood pressure and smashed up controllers.

HIGH VELOCITY XBOX CONTROOOOOOLLLEEEERRR! OOPS!!

I think everyone has a nemesis in the form of a game. There have been a few in my past but the most recent one for me was Splosion Man. This game is nothing short of brilliant and if you haven’t played it then read the review and go from there. However, and I don’t want to put you off because every gamer’s rage levels are different, the final boss is so cheap it makes Seth from Super Street Fighter IV look like any other character.

I had been working on that boss for about three days and the thing that annoyed me was having to start again if you died. To put it another way, no checkpoints. Normally it wouldn’t bother me, however this one did. After some long gruelling game play I performed without a doubt the best Xbox 360 controller drop kick ever witnessed by mankind.

It went a little something like this. I stood up, dropped the controller, kicked it as hard as possible, controller shot across the room and instantly smashed against the wall rendering it useless. After that I had to attempt to calm down an angry wife and an upset child. Lesson learned.

Since then I have been relatively stress free when playing games. Not sure if it’s me getting older or just sick of handing out cash every time I lose my temper.

I don’t know if I am tempting fate but the question at the back of my mind is should I play the upcoming title RAGE? It looks absolutely brilliant, almost like a well polished Borderlands but it has the word ‘rage’ in the title.

How I feel playing Splosion Man

For anyone who hasn’t heard of  RAGE it’s a post apocalyptic first person shooter developed by iD Software and will be published by Bethesda. It’s not only an FPS but also an RPG with a whole lot of shooting and driving involved. The game was announced in 2007 and is due for release this year.

Initially when I saw Bethesda were involved I thought that it was going to be slightly buggy. You know, like the slightly buggy Fallout 3 titles but with iD Software at the helm I’m sure it’ll be great. I still need to be careful though so I might stack up on my Beta Blockers (no, they aren’t the beta version of the full blown Blocker) so I can keep my cool.