Now there’s millions and millions of usernames in this world. You see them all the time especially in online gaming and forums and there’s always some you remember more than others. Probably from regular appearances, the type of interaction, perhaps even making you laugh or angry. Or even the names themselves can be memorable, creative names, normal names, offensive to just being made up of numbers. What goes on in someone’s mind during the time that they’re creating their profile?

I’m sure that we’ve all gone through a few names before settling to what we go by today. I’ve realised that my previous usernames, are almost like chapters of my life as a gamer. Each of which bring back particular gaming memories:

KungFuMissy – A name I often used offline and on save files. At the time I was heavily watching World Cinema and Hollywood movies that featured martial arts. Obvious right? Pretty cute when I recall this name being used for my alter-ego when creating female fighters in Def Jam Vendetta (PS2), WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role (PS1), Shaolin (PS1) and others.

Kikassgal – To put simply, I couldn’t fit ‘KungFuMissy’ when creating a username for Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 (damn Westwood!). So it was shortened to ‘Kikassgal’. I guess I was demanding to express being a violent lady of the warring world, ocassionaly spamming the F12 taunt key as well and getting told off for it by friends through XFire.

RazmatazzShaz – When I used to walk to school with a friend, we’d always stop by the local ‘Spar’ shop around the corner and buy sweets. There was a fizzy sour sweet called ‘Razmatazz’ (which tasted awful) and hence I placed a rhyming name ‘RazmatazzShaz’. Although it was goddamn confusing everytime I needed to spell this out for exchanging gamer handle contacts over speech. ‘No it’s two Z’s at the end of Razmatazz’… also I soon felt that the name was too long to pronounce over and over.

It’s kind of funny how some of us do call others by their gamer names instead of their real names. Or even to think of how a name can have an influence on them. In my early days of Xbox 360 gaming, my gamertag was born as ‘TinyShaz’. I met a new friend through Gears of War 1, who also had ‘T1ny’ as part of their username. So when two tinys entered the room, naturally they paired up and there was no end to the banter and laughter of the duo. There are some who actually call me ‘Tiny’ instead of ‘Shaz’ and to be honest, I’ve gotten so used to it online that it still works to grab my attention in the real world.

I feel there’s something to the names and I’ve heard many stories about them. Although the usernames are intended for the virtual environment, they have cropped up in our daily lives. However there’s a sudden disconnection or feeling a little lost when suddenly I log in to an account and lots of people change their names.

A name that brings memories, nobody forgets the tiny one!

I finally settled with my perfect gamer handle, ‘TinyShaz’. The name is short and simple, plus this sums me up as a person too. (It’s no joke, I seriously created that name putting my height and nickname together!)

Luckily this name is not often thought of by other online users, (as vain as it was) I proved this to myself through a quick Google search. The internet search engine then displays a chuck load of evidence showing where I had been taking my username; appearing under Ready Up, other gaming media websites, forums and profiles, etc. Having gotten used to being able to create accounts and be the original keeper of this name on most places I’ve gone to, I’ve become so attached to this name, I would flinch or feel somewhat envious if I came face to face with another who shares the name or if I couldn’t create an account with it. “Go get a different name, TinyShaz is my name!”

A friendly name which I abuse the power of its innocent sound online. Plus it suits me well don’t you think?

We invite you to come join us at one of London’s biggest arcade centres, featuring over four massive floors of bright, buzzing arcade machines. From retro to the new, from classics to the quirky, there’s plenty to suit our individual tastes. We’ve seen solo rivalries come face to face for a showdown, teams of gamers in fun competition, the talented players wowing the crowd and all in a friendly atmosphere with laughter to follow.

When we’ve finished running wild in the arcade, the location of central London means there’s plenty of places to grab a quick bite or to group up and chow down. Refuelling our energy leads us to pulling a Nintendo DS from our pockets to settle down for a friendly chat and easy-going session at the Horse and Groom pub (over 18s only) bringing two great communities, Ready Up and DS London, together.

DETAILS:

12pm – Meet the team, meet the community then meet the games at Funland, London Trocadero. We fight, we dance, we shoot, we drive, winning prizes and pride or losing with style and laughter. Food can be grabbed at the centre or from many of the shops and resturants located in and around the central area.

6pm – (Over 18s only, please bring your I.D) Joining DS London, we all sit down, relax with a casual session at The Horse and Groom. A drink in one hand and a Nintendo DS in the other, the evening is set for swapping stories, discussions and portable action along the way.

We hope to see you soon and we can’t wait for the day. So head on over to our discussion thread and let loose the excitement!

Eventually when all ideas have been exhausted it’s time to swallow your pride and log on to GameFaqs.com, or perhaps if you’ve got one of those BradyGames guide walkthrough beauties.

Here you shall find the answers about your game

Now this is where the dangerous bit kicks in. The moment you’ve resorted to a guide there’s this lingering temptation to just follow it straight afterwards, meaning that you now don’t bother figuring it out on your own. You just simply read along and do as it says (yes I know that’s its purpose) but this then spoils the game content when you know what to expect, changing the way you perceive the game. When this happens I pull out the term, ‘lazy gamer’.

Games tend to have built in guides, tutorials and hints (making me less bothered to read a manual) and I’ve started to realise that it’s turning me into a lazy gamer. Recently I’ve been playing Batman Arkham Asylum and admittedly I’ve been capering around seeing the world of Arkham Asylum only in detective mode. Detective mode highlights objects you can interact with and clues you in on what you have to do next. It’s a mode that you can switch on and off but it takes away seeing the true colours and graphics built around you (which is a stunning experience) if you’re using it. Unfortunately my lazy gamer would say, ‘I’ve had to use this visual mode for pretty much most of the time so why not be in it all the time for convenience?’

If the Tenchu games had this feature I'd be storming those GrandMaster Rankings!

When I was stuck on Obscure (PS2), I turned on the lazy gamer tactics. There are six playable characters with their unique abilities and the game often required finding and using items to progress. One of the characters, named Josh, had the ability to spot things in the room so after being stuck for a small time period; it wasn’t long after that I’d start abusing the powers of Josh. Running into every single room on the map location and just pressing the circle button waiting for two responses along the lines of, ‘There’s something in this room’ or ‘There’s nothing left for us here’. My horror game was no longer filled with silence and suspense, they were replaced by a character constantly rinsing and repeating these two sentences to the finish.

A different sense of laziness, while playing any of the Pheonix Wright series on the DS my thinking cap totally turned off after at least 10 minutes of being stuck. In short the game needed me to investigate various locations and speak to people to reveal clues and evidence for upcoming court cases. Now what you get is a still landscape background which you poke about with your stylus in particular areas to find things. However after you’ve taken twenty logical guesses where only half may have produced positive results, you’ll resort to a quick barrage of tapping with the stylus like a pneumatic drill all over the touch screen starting from left to right, top to bottom.

So the order is that if at first I don’t succeed, try, try, again. After a good portion of time while trying and I’m still trying, I’ll try by spoiling and abusing the game mechanics. Then if I’m still stuck I’ll log onto an online walkthrough and follow that to the end. Usually I get more satisfaction completing something by myself but nowadays I’ve become equally satisfied to just finish the game using a guide. I’m sure we’ve all been a lazy gamer at some stage.

The calm before the storm, September is coming and Byron Hall in London will see hundreds coming together (from UK and international) for Super Versus Battle 2009. Three full days of fighting extravaganza featuring tournaments in:

• Blazblue
• King of Fighters XII
• Guilty Gear XX Accent Core
• Capcom VS SNK 2
• Soul Calibur IV
• Street Fighter IV
• Street Fighter III 3rd Strike
• Street Fighter Alpha 3
• Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix

There’ll also be an exclusive hands-on preview of Tekken 6 the home version on Playstation 3. A chance for everyone to try out the game before it’s official release later this year. The game will also feature as a tournament.

So rewinding back, I’ll give you a catch up of my journey for the fight. I first discovered the UK fighting community scene at Battle of Destiny 2008 which gave me a new insight to the genre. Seeing the level of gameplay at the tournaments inspired me to further my gaming skills in fighting to competitive standards. From then on came the release of Street Fighter IV which put everyone back to the stepping stones, new ideas, tactics and tricks are still being learned today.

A lot of hours were spent online on Xbox Live playing against many fighters. All my friends grew accustomed to seeing me involved with Street Fighter in different ways, playing the gaming series (Xbox and PS2 house sessions, pound coins spent in arcades), watching youtube videos, looking through guides, discussions and constantly picking up new things.

After Stunfest in May, friends and experienced players of the UK community Zak Bennett (Former Evo Competitor and SFIV World Record Holder), Ryan Hart (Evo Champion and SFIV European Champion) along with many from Neo Empire helped me practice for tournament level fighting. Relocating myself to London where more players could be found locally, I continued playing and occasionally am found practising SFIV or Street Fighter III 3rd Strike in Casino (Goodge Street) or Trocadero (Piccadilly).

Below is a clip recorded of a match between myself (TinyShaz) and fellow UK competitor, Femy (F-Word) at Casino Arcade. We had both been wielding Ken and defining two different playstyles of the same character. My strengths lay in kara-throws and he was more capable in punishing combos.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So here comes Super Versus Battle where I’ll be jumping in for competition of SFIV, SF3 3rd Strike and Soul Calibur IV. Joining me is Ready Up’s Nick and he’ll be entering SFIV, SF3 3rd Strike and SF 2 HD Remix. Catching up with my fellow gamer and writer here’s what he had to say about his preparations and what he expects to achieve:

‘Ok well I’ve been training mainly on 2dFighter and LIVE for HDRemix and Third Strike. Then we have a small Irish scene on Boards.ie where I have been playing SFIV.

I skipped Third Strike in terms of gameplay so I’ve found the best way to play this is to go onto GGPO and 2DFighter as the standard there is quite high. For parry training I’ve been using an old copy of Street Fighter Anniversary for the Xbox. If I get a respectable level on the pool stages I’ll be quite happy! HDR is a little different. Xbox has been my main training for this but as there are some casuals hosted in Dublin twice a week, I get some decent games off guys based there.

Street Fighter IV though is my main game and I’ve pretty much hit all types of areas for training, research and general information. Boards.ie has started monthly tournaments as well so I’m hoping to get more experience against characters not so common on Xbox Live as there’s no known SFIV Arcade Machines in Dublin.’

Wishing the best of luck to the both of us, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing familiar and fresh faces to play with. The best part of it all is seeing the rallying support of the gaming scene to keep events like this happening.

• ‘Damn I forgot to eat!’ or
• ‘Woah when did the sun go down?’ or
• (sniff sniff) ‘Oh no the pizza is burning!’ or
• ‘Ack! I’m late for work…(true case and I’ve been late to work and university many times!)  and many more.

”Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted’ ~ John Lennon

In my personal experience I can recall being a victim to Final Fantasy VII and Eternal Sonata. RPG’s tend to be the classic example for really keeping me down in my seat. It’s pretty understandable though as they’re are in-depth games. I swear the ending cutscene to Final Fantasy IX was pretty much an hour.

However it’s not just the RPG’s that keep me at bay; you’ll be surprised at the amount of time I can spend on simpler games. Puzzle and arcade hi-scoring games have me going for endless hours, maybe reeling me in to the equivilent of the hour marathon playing of Burnout Paradise.

I’d like to call the two genres as my ’simple pleasures’. I like the fact that in contrast the designs to these as to RPG’s, ‘less is more’ and certainly these games are more than enough to keep me content.

Once a friend asked me how I could play these games over and over. What more was I enjoying in the reptition of the game which didn’t carry much of a plot. Putting my hands together I thought long and hard but in the end I couldn’t come up with an impressive worded answer. Instead I simply clapped my hands to say, ‘I don’t know, it’s just fun!’

He then questioned the story of Left 4 Dead, albeit he enjoyed the game but at the same time he was persistent to ask, ‘What started the zombie outbreak? Why are they there? who are these people?’ Which then I turned around to reply,’It’s just meant to be a mock of a generic zombie setting, why does there need to be an explanation or a background to who these people are?’ I couldn’t provide answers without having to make up my own fictional background to Left 4 Dead. So once more I put my hands together and said,’I don’t know, it’s just a great game!’

Lately I was introduced to Lumines and upon first try it had already become my gaming addiction. It has no story but it’s own magic entails the progressive music and the easy-going colour co-ordination puzzle gaming. Those two elements alone are more than enough to keep me happy.

Geometry Wars doesn’t have a story but it’s fast, exciting and blowing things up just gets addictive. The game makes me more rowdy as more of those neon shapes invade the play area while I steer my ship around and yell in excitement. Geometry Wars in particular has been the common cause for my late attendance at meetings or work. You wouldn’t think that but you don’t realise how many times you keep hitting restart and saying ‘well it’s only three minute rounds so it’ll be quick’.

So it’s not always the high end next gen graphics or the overloading plot that have to mark the criteria for a good game. Even I find more longevitiy and satisfaction from Lumines over Lost Odyssey. I wonder if you can say you have a virtual obsessive compulsive disorder from puzzle gaming though?

]]> http://ready-up.net/2009/08/02/simple-pleasures/feed/ 5 http://ready-up.net/2009/07/17/the-taste-of-video-games/ http://ready-up.net/2009/07/17/the-taste-of-video-games/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:00:46 +0000 Shaz http://ready-up.net/?p=9779 It’s those times when you spot a familiar face/item from the corner of your eye and suddenly our inner geek hearts just explode wildly. A sudden rush of excitement and you’ve become Phoenix Wright helplessly compelled to point your finger like crazy.

I know certain members of Ready Up go weak at the knees for gaming merchandise. Video game shrines of all sizes from book shelves to walls, computer desks to wardrobes, displays of rare gaming collectables, promotional items; there’s usually something geeky we’re holding onto in our homes.

Personally I’m a sucker for gamer apparel and cosplay. Sometimes it’s kind of surprising to see the lengths we go to for particular things, for example I actually sat down and waged a fierce mouse-clicking battle with someone over eBay for a Mirrors Edge bag… and I won, hehe.

Recently I was given a Street Fighter energy drink for my efforts in using Ken in Street Fighter IV, it just so happened to be a coincidence of the can! Unfortunately I can’t really say what it tastes like because I don’t really drink energy drinks. Looking at what’s in it, I’m more likely to expect sugar to just flow out of the can rather than carbonated liquid. Right now it hides away in my fridge but for once I’ve never felt quite so confused about what to do with it. At some point I’ll have to empty it as I keep envisioning it bursting out its fizzy content. Although it’s one hell of an awesome can there’s just a voice in the back of my head that says it’s going to end up in the bin. One reason is because at the end of the day, it’s a drink: the can is likely to get dented (accidentally or on purpose), it doesn’t have an outer packaging (which is the saviour of keeping things pristine) and so poor Ken is left unsociably inside a fridge.

Now I’d been aware of video game energy foods and drinks and so this made me a little curious to scope out what else is out there. I had seen glimpses of Street Fighter energy drinks being given out in America. However I didn’t realise just how far the aisle stretches for other brands too. Surprisingly the results were many:

Heaven for the candy kids but it’s quite a task if you really want to get a hold of these things. I know for certain ESC in Glasgow have Mana potions and I’ve seen Mario Kinder Eggs in ‘Artbox’ in Camden Markets, London. I’m guessing you may find some of this stuff at conventions but otherwise my guess is a Google and import job. Although I enjoy sweet confectionary, this is the kind of thing that those opposed to gaming would just love to point out because of their narrow beliefs in them causing obesity, lack of sociability, unhealthy habits, etc. However, I did also find the healthier options, with some amazing video game bento boxes:

So there’s a little taste of video games for you. Kudos to those who took time to make these fabulous lunch boxes but gosh these pictures are really making me hungry now!

One thing to consider with Rock Band is the need for a fairly large space to accommodate the instruments and friends who love to jump around. So think of my surprise when facing PSP’s own title ‘Rock Band Unplugged’. In that instant the first thing that came to mind was to downsize all the instruments and imagine the set up for PSP’s Rock Band to be made of finger sized instruments:

Seriously how has a game which largely depended on a large area of playing space, with the contribution of four members condensed down to solo micro-management by the powers of fingers and thumbs on a portable by yourself? (Yes we’re just using the PSP, I was joking about the toy instruments.)

Well believe it or not, it is true. Taking all four instruments under your stride there’s no one to blame for slipping up but yourself. Don’t worry though, it’s not as hard as it sounds. Using the L and R shoulder buttons you switch between the four running tracks of each instrument. The notes are made up from the left d-pad, up d-pad, triangle and circle buttons. The songs will always start you off on one instrument running track and as long as you play the track well to satisfy the ‘phrase’ quota, the instrument will then temporarily play by itself so you can jump over in preparation for the next upcoming instrument. If you’ve got your rhythm and co-ordination consistent, you’ll have no problems playing phrases and switching between the instruments like a walk in the park.

However upon messing up a phrase means it’ll take longer to fill and only if you play successfully within the quota will the computer offer it’s temporary help from your hands. The longer you take on one instrument you will start to see notes flowing down on another track. As the notes go by so does the life bar on the instrument so keep your timing up or you’ll be losing your sound and eventually losing your gig if you’re not careful!

It all sounds a little fiddly but keep with it and you’ll get the hang of the controls within about three or four songs. The tutorial mode does a great job of breaking everything down in chapters; for players who aren’t familiar with music/rhythm gaming and for those who are but only need to know how to get around Rock Band Unplugged.

Tour Mode main ingredient to Rock Band Unplugged so I created my very own ‘Ready Up’ rock band. Now in reality Ready Up’s staff come from various locations in the UK; however it seemed more fitting for me to decide our home town to be San Francisco because only that and Dublin, Amsterdam, Chicago are the only places that exist in this game. Yes that didn’t make sense at all but I heard San Francisco is a nice place so that was that choice made! After a good while of nit-picking at how each individual band member dresses, setting Ready Up band off for gigs, impressing fans, hiring staff to boost fanbase and increase income. The main task was to achieve great performances to unlock more gig venues and most importantly, more songs.

However I feel there’s a bit of a horrible double edge to this game; either you can keep going through playing gigs in tour mode but find yourself playing the same songs a little too often, or you choose to spoil yourself silly by going through the main menu options to ‘Modify Game’ and ticking ‘unlock all songs’ (which I’m quite disappointed to have discovered). You’ll also find ‘no failure’ and ‘no solos’ there too but come on, ticking those boxes just takes away the sense of gaming achievement and satisfaction.

Extra features in the game are Quickplay, Warm Up and Survival Mode (not for the feint-hearted) but to be honest I’d say just stick to tour mode and quickplay for when you’re killing time on the bus. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again because the tracks don’t take long to get through, you may as well take your practice on the real game anyway.

However they’re not the only old dogs who return with new tricks, as days go by there’s an increase in more legendary video game heroes arising under new rendering fashions: we’ll always be wowed by the lushness of Lady Lara Croft, the surviving Snakes of Metal Gear Solid, the cocky-Dante of Devil May Cry, the vibrant cast of Street Fighter… such is the joy being a gamer that our accompanying characters grow and adapt in our modern lives.

Above all though, my first companions on the Playstation One could not have surprised more with a recent spotting. I felt like I had walked into a scenario of ‘This Is Your Life’, my nostalgic gamer heart popped like Pringles and I burst into shock and excitement. There was no mistake that I had spotted two familiar faces from the World of Phantomile, oh… my… god… it’s the return of Klonoa and Huepow and goddamn, how beautiful you’ve both become!

Click here to view the embedded video.

So that was a video of the introduction to Klonoa on the Wii, which personally brings me an overwhelming flood of memories. Yeah I bet your jaws dropped seeing the rebirth of a super-awesome classic PS1 title. Those who have never played Klonoa, I bid you to pick this up because trust me, as your fellow gamer here on Ready Up, I don’t want you to miss out on a great tale of friendship which is potent Disney in a video game form.

Seriously for my sake, while I’m unable to relive the game my smile widens to know that here lies an opportunity for everyone else to experience it. I want to reminisce once more about Klonoa and yet at the same time learn of the new things you’ll see and do in the Wii’s version of the world of Phantomile.

And while we’re on the topic of having the old favourites brought back to life, what would you love to see come back? I could label dozens but I’m going to break it down to three.

Firstly as if the entire globe wouldn’t throw their hands up for a return of Final Fantasy VII, god wasn’t that PS3 tech demo such a tease! I remember signing an online petition to beg for a remake. Though it’s not set to happen, if dreams came true that’ll be the day I go straight out for a PS3 machine whatever the circumstances.

Secondly a Gamecube title which I felt was underrated, PN03. The arcade shoot-em-up mixed with progressive trance tracks and the most fluid moving combat cyber-soldier, I would love to see the bopping, rhythmical and explosive return of Vanessa.

Lastly because I feel there hasn’t been any groundbreaking, innovative racing games lately, *sigh* I never did get my childhood dream of a Tyco Rebound remote control car but I did get the next best thing, Rollcage on the PS1. It was fast, it had weapons, it had four gigantic wheels and you could drive upside down!

Who knows, eh? Maybe somebody out there will hear my plea *hint hint lovely developers*

Remakes of these would soooo kick ass and you know I'm right!

The answer would always be the same, I’d tell them to just surprise me and unsurprisingly, my surprises come in the forms of video game gift cards or readily gift-packaged bathtime luxuries. Now it’s the thought that counts and these are wonderful things to have been given on my birthdays. Thanks to all who put towards the cost of my gaming passions and for telling me that for years I still smell and need a bath.

Today I finally came up with an answer to that yearly question:

‘Birthday Coins’

I’m happy to reveal that celebration of my date of birth is cheap and cheerful.

My heart lies within the haven of the bright, buzzing atmosphere of gaming arcades; there you’ll find me as happy as a kid in a candy store. The blipping noise, the crowds, running around in excitement over more than four floors of brimming arcade machines. It’s no wonder I fall weak in the knees and end up losing my voice at London’s Trocadero.

So all I ask for is a coin, a coin that rewards me with the greatest five to twenty minutes of gaming pleasure. In these moments I get psyched, putting my fists up to a ‘Street Fighter’, jumping on the spot ready to show some ‘Dance Dance Revolution’, preparing my hands for ‘Hyper Bishi Bashi’ motion or maybe found clambering around the wheel and trying to reach the acceleration pedal for OutRun 2. Whatever machine I’m on, there’s fun and hilarity to follow.

I choose the short bursts of joy in arcades over long investment gaming on home consoles. Why? Because I like the large peripheral toys, I may be older and wiser (cough) but I’m still a big kid inside who likes to climb trees and walls pretending I’m Faith of Mirrors Edge. If I ever win the lottery, Channel Beat will have a very happy customer. Having the presence of my friends over online gaming is fantastic, having them with me physically is even more fantastic where real life reactions and expressions are priceless.

I love a day out and I love a live atmosphere; hence you can expect something special will be happening later this year. It’s a little way away yet but when my day comes, I’m rocking the Troc!

I’ve yet to jump that fence and see how green the grass is there in the HD quality world. I haven’t really fussed over gaming visuals since I moved out of my original hometown, where I had access to a gaming PC; flicking all settings to high resolution, high details and the like.

While the XBox 360 and it’s games still do well to make my gaming heart explode with joy, there’s always going to be a few particular things that anger the beast inside of me; when games are clearly made for HDTV.

A frustrating situation when I often find myself sitting closer to my ‘normal’ TV squinting as my eyes, trying to guess by the shape of these thin, blurred in-game text. There are a few number of games that I truly wanted to enjoy but I couldn’t have pleasure without pain.

Dead Rising was the first title to curse me with this and for ages I’d have to look up a guide to find out what I was meant to be doing. It tends to be the text that causes the main problem and I still have troubles in my gaming leisures today. What upsets me the most to raise this issue is that recently I can’t enjoy my favourite game, Street Fighter IV, properly. Unfortunately, I can’t read the character command menu in training mode which infuriates me immensely.  I stumble across the name of a move I need to learn for part of an execution, combo or link up and so I need to refer to the command sheets but when I get there I can’t read what is what!

Believe me I look forward to my future with high definition but until then, give me some alternative to in-game guiding text so I can at least get by and progress. Or somebody get me a HDTV!

This definitely being my cup of tea, without hesitation I sprung my little legs onto the Eurostar and zipped straight on through the channel tunnel. People can recall my magical energy that got me through the 24 hour Burnout Paradise stint, so don’t be surprised to know that my eyes lit up when they saw the words ‘48 hours of non-stop gaming in Rennes, France!’

Now picture the music video of Prodigy’s – No Good and you’ll have an idea of how underground this event was. A massive car parking space transformed into an arcade and console heaven, with sections dividing the casuals and the tournament spaces. Aside from the fighting games (my favourite genre), the display of import games like Dance Dance Revolution and Magical Drop added more fuel to my fire. I can’t say how many circles I walked across the venue to play each and every one of them more than several times. Gosh, to think of all the things I played, there were way more beyond the competitive games and the diversity even struck back to the likes of Puyo Pop to Duck Hunt!

Since my first attendance at a tournament back last year at Neo Empire’s Battle of Destiny; the revival of my fighting spirit had led me to follow up various tournaments in the UK. This was the first time I had attended a tournament overseas to witness the main features of Stunfest. Stunfest played host to the European Qualifiers for the major yearly fighting tournament Super Battle Opera (Tougeki) and Ichigeki ‘09, a chance for European CVS2 champion, Yamazaki (France) to play against EVO champions Yoshida Ryo (Japan) and John Choi (USA). This which was to determine who is the best Capcom Vs SNK 2 player in the world!

Surrounded by many inspirational fighters; at the scene I caught up with an old acquaintance, Justin Wong (JWong/USA) and met other top players, Yoshida Ryo (D44 Bas/Japan), Campbell (Buktooth/USA), John Choi (USA), Nicholas Inabnit (NKI/USA) and Ryan Ahn (Laugh/South Korea). I was also delighted to see our UK players, Zak Bennet, Ryan Hart, Chunkis, Rakurai and other heads who came to represent. All of whom tackled our European competitors among the variety of titles bringing great gameplay; and even as rivals, everyone is more than happy to discuss, share and tip off other players on how to improve. Thanks to these guys my future in fighting grows fierce but also fun.

Meeting people is the best part of events like these and it’s pretty interesting to think that anyone can be a tournament player, perhaps the IT professional, SAP Business analyst, student, entrepreneurs, maybe even a writer from Ready Up. So sitting down with the players, I wanted to know more about what drives them on and their tales of experiences in the fighting world:

Shaz – So Justin, the last time we met was at Battle Of Destiny 08, clue me in, what have you been up to lately?

Justin – Well I’ve been up to a lot of Street Fighter IV.  I recently won the Gamestop national tournament and I’ve been working with the people I am affiliated with such as Empire Arcadia, Kapital, and Clgamer. I haven’t had a lot of time to play any video games besides fighting games but I do tend to pull out the DS a couple of times for a bit of Pokemon.

Shaz - How long have you guys been playing competitively and what made you turn to the tournament tables?

John – I’ve been playing competitively for about 18 years, ever since the original Street Fighter 2 came out. I love competition and still continue to do it except now I’m travelling world wide looking for competition and making lots of new friends along the way.

Zak -It might be coming up to three and a half years, compared to a lot of players that isn’t very long.  I started out like a lot of the players in the arcade; it took a lot of beatings, wasted pound coins and learning the hard way to get good.  The players are all nice, regular ranking battles and all the events in the UK that Neo Empire host made me want to get better and better.  From there, its only a matter of time before you start seeing good results, and I think anyone can do it, they just have to stay focused.

Ryan - It’s been about 8 years and I’ve attended about 15 large scale tournaments like Evo and SBO. My fascination with tournament level fighting games first sparked when I accidentally stumbled on Shoryuken and found a jackpot of high level match videos, tutorials, and discussions back in 2001.

Shaz - What’s your main game right now?

Nic – Super Street Fighter II Turbo.  It’s well balanced, fast-paced, offers a good variety of character design and has good aesthetics. I think ST is a fairly action-oriented game and also the damage is relatively high, the round is never over ’til it’s over – it’s possible to make some awesome comebacks.

Justin – My main game is SFIV because I follow where the competitive scene takes me and I’m in love with it because of the competition; I like the fact that so many people are playing it.

Ryan - Capcom vs SNK 2 (Street Fighter IV is my second main game) because asides from being a very deep game, CVS2 allows for all types of play-styles at highest levels (defensive/offensive, variety of grooves) and also because the game hardly allows for fluke random wins; It’s all skill.

Shaz – Zak, what’s this I hear of you scooping a Guinness World Record of most consecutive wins?

Zak - The record attempt happened on the day of the SFIV release; it was a great chance to promote the game and show what can be done with it.  The record was set at a fairly respectable 108 wins, sure to be broken if a heavyweight decides to try for it

Shaz – Ryan, there was a moment during the SFIV (5 versus 5) exhibition where it lay in your hands to carry Team World against Team France, yet you turned into a monster and defeated five players in a row! How does it feel to achieve victory?

Ryan - My five win streak comeback against Team France in the SF4 exhibition, I was more relieved rather than shocked actually (laughs). Because I knew Korea’s SFIV rep was solely resting on my shoulders, I think that pressure put me in battle mode and allowed me to beat the entire France team which was no easy task I must admit. I’m not very known for big comebacks, so I hope this one is the first of many to come in the future.

Shaz - So any tips for me on my road to fighting victory?

John - The game is fairly new so techniques and strategies are changing very often at this point. That means exposing yourself to current tactics is very crucial to stay on top of the game. Playing against lots of different players (perhaps online) and reading up on forums should help a lot. Also, watch videos of top players to get ideas.

Nic – I guess this is applicable to any fighting game (not just SFIV), pick a character that you like; there’s not much point in playing a game if you’re not enjoying it.  Learn the bread-and-butter combos (your most damaging combo for any given situation, like if the opponent whiffs a big move).  Beef up your knowledge and experience, play the game a lot.  If you don’t have a good local scene where you live, online play can really help boost your experience level.  Develop some good mind games; think about what the opponent is thinking, and make sure you don’t fight in a pattern.  If you get predictable, you’ll get punished.

Justin – Tighten up your combos to make sure if you hit someone, its going to leave a mark and also don’t get so nervous when you’re playing against someone up close.

France was a blast and it shows that a bit of passion mixed with commitment from communities can pull off great events like Stunfest. While I would definitely jump at the next occasion, there’s plenty of events here in the UK. There’s the next Ready Up gamer’s meet, Insert Coin 09, Super Versus Battle 09 and more on the calendar. While online play certainly keeps us in touch as gamers, there’s nothing that beats the atmosphere of a live gaming gathering and I truly hope to see your faces at the next events!

There are people who roar a lot about their winning streaks, there are some who don’t and there are others who rumour or talk of your wins to others. Whichever way it goes when you come face to face with whoever it may be, take it from me and remember ‘you win some, you lose some’. That’s all. Chances are you could probably win, maybe make a name for yourself for beating them and that’s when you prop yourself up thinking, “oh, you’re not that great then…”

A funny thing from my experience, when people lose to you in a game, they say, “If this was <insert a different game title to the one you are currently playing> then I’d easily be owning you”. Well it’s not is it? LOL.

My personality as a gamer is cheeky and everyone’s seen that in games, forums, Xbox Live parties and so on. So as Simes mentioned already I made rivalries in the 24 hour Burnout Paradise marathon and you’ve got to admit, it’s kind of humouring to have a toy car pulling up close to you with its high pitch revving trying to stare you out. There you go, that’s one of the many games that I’m not so great at but willing to keep going with because it’s fun.

So abilities, skill and reputation regardless, the thing I notice most about gamers is their attitude. Winning can be a dangerous pride and there’s a lot of players who can get so emotional about it. Is it really worth getting upset that after all your months of practice you get headshot by a fresh face? At times I lose at my own favourite games too, but if anything you learn from where you went wrong. Practice makes perfect and that to me, is where gamers of good reputation come from. Everyone has to start from somewhere because nobody was born a great!

So here at Ready Up, the writers and the community; you’re all winners to me, whether you’re good, whether you’re learning, whether you’re funny, whether you’re a crazy gamer, no matter your ‘reputation’ (as long as you’re not unpleasant) there’s a lot of good games, a bundle of laughs and support for your growth as a gamer.

You know the last time I whipped out the cash was way back in February for Street Fighter IV. I’ve not spent a penny on a game since. ‘Oh yeah? Then how did you get your hands on Resident Evil 5?’ Smarty Shaz has the answer and that’s ‘trade-ins’.

Some folks right now have just gasped at that phrase, in fact they’d probably consider it an act of sin. For the rest, please do not pity the tiny one for this is simply how life goes. I threw in the first Gears of War, Soul Calibur IV (which was hard for me because I’m a fan of fighters) and a few others. Ta da! Store credit towards Resident Evil 5.  So now you’ve learnt my ways of gaming efficiency, ‘play ‘em and trade ‘em!’.

I think my financial limits do kind of help because I will choose my games carefully and play them thoroughly finishing from A to B. The bad side is that I miss out on some of the Ready Up forum gaming nights and other downloadable content for previous games.

‘But I’ve noticed you’ve been playing Warriors Orochi 2, Burnout Paradise and Dead Space lately!’ Oh yes my friends that is true! That is the bonus to friendships between gamers of whom I’m very grateful for. When the wallet isn’t looking so perky, what better alternative than the traditional ’swapping’ with trusted friends. A great way to share our recommendations and save a bit of money.

]]> http://ready-up.net/2009/04/10/sharing-is-caring/feed/ 8 http://ready-up.net/2009/03/27/geeky-humour/ http://ready-up.net/2009/03/27/geeky-humour/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:00:58 +0000 Shaz http://ready-up.net/?p=3254 Bit of a short post from me today but it’ll be a memorable one hehe. Well I have laughed so much on the things everyone has shared in our forum ‘thread of internet LOLZ and awesomeness’. The monthly caption games I set out really show how witty and talented our readers are, great one liners that I’d never have thought of and fantastic photoshopping humour from some individuals. All this is my favourite part of Ready Up, our community wrapped with the lovely aura of geeky friendship and giggles, aww. A major factor as to why I can’t wait to set up another Ready Up gamers meet in the coming months.

So I want to share with you some things to make your day, don’t worry folks they’re work safe. Thanks to Youtube the giant directory of user uploaded videos. I’ve picked out three videos (which was pretty hard to do) that we can laugh and be amazed at together, enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Got something you think we should see? Share it with us here.

As Team Ready Up fought fierce on the battlefield of Call of Duty 4, cautious but deadly Kirsten is scouting on the outskirts, cackling inside her head at the idea of giving the enemy the element of surprise, followed by Tony zipping around cover to cover in confidence as a veteran shooter. The team are pretty much working in small armies of twos. Meanwhile back at spawn camp Dan is just taking a break while it’s safe, maybe sipping a bit of tea. Suddenly a soldier appears out of nowhere. Time to get back into the fight as the fresh face is starting to strafe all over the place and is probably wondering what’s happened to Dan, as Dan picks up the controller he notices the strange behaviour of this soldier, running around in circles and firing their gun endlessly, “Umm Shaz what are you doing?”

*Scene Two*

Smackdown VS Raw 08, the arena is packed and the noise of the crowd is huge. The announcer in the ring roars down the microphone, “The following contest is scheduled for one fall!”  The fans respond in excitement and the atmosphere intensifies as the big muscle players are making their grand entrances towards the ring. Only one more person left to enter the ring for the main event, a triple threat match. The lights dim and fireworks blast like crazy, hardcore metal pounds through the arena speakers and as the blue smoke clears at the entrance. The mysterious wrestler standing in place is revealed, “Gaah ha ha ha, what the f*ck is that?!” Tiq surrenders to ROFL’ing as Shaz’s virtual, deformed, tall, chicken legged, but chest of a beast character struts down the ramp. ‘Binky’ the male wrestler with an unnaturally large proportioned head, a single antenna on his head, waving his long slender twig-like arms, proudly pouting his huge white lips, his man body squeezed in women’s lingerie, cone shaped legs narrowing to dainty feet, Binky carries himself to the ring ignoring the cruel belly laughs of the other players in the game channel.

*Scene Three*

It’s a peaceful evening in the U.K, Ready Up folk and the community are found springing up on Xbox Live mingling in party chats, debating, gossiping and challenging each other to multiplayers. The chatter soon draws to a silence as people are focusing a little more on their gaming tasks with the occasional spout of co-op language. After a minute’s silence for some reason a chimpanzee begins making noises and giggles in the room. ‘Who’s making monkey noises?’ questions the people of the party, silence. The guilty joins in the questioning, the party laugh and carry on gaming. As somebody starts a conversation another chimpanzee noise is bellowed through the Xbox headset followed by a giggle, members begin to laugh and once more pursue who is behind the silliness, one immediately replies, “Guys it’s Shaz, I saw her mic icon flash!”

*The Confession – cue ‘The Entertainer‘ music track*

So yeah, I raise my two tiny hands high in the air and admit that I’m the silly one. It’s me who’s bunny-hopping as the gang travel across Saints Row 2, it’s me who’s running in circles around a fellow COG while swinging a smoke grenade, it’s me who ignores all tactics of Left 4 Dead, throwing the molotov at the Witch and running away ecstaticlly screaming like a five year old playing tag. It’s me playing Xianghua in Soul Calibur IV trying to win the match by throwing a tantrum on the floor. It’s me responsible for getting everyone killed in a game of GTA IV Cops and Crooks because I demanded that the crooks all swam to the get-away vehicle.

I’m afraid there is no explanation to this blog, the simple fact is that at some point you will encounter some silliness over Xbox Live. It’s just one of my strange attributes which can kick in anytime, anywhere, so be warned my friends. Behaviour out of the norm is no glitch, it’s probably just me being silly. Good rep please!

Calling on gamers and geeks of London on Saturday 7th March, DS:London will be holding a DS charity Tournament to raise money in aid of Red Nose Day. The main games being played will be Tetris, Bomberman and Mario Kart along with some other smaller tournaments on other DS games and Wii, time permitting. There will be plenty of opportunities for people to play games casually around the event as well.

There will be games prizes for the top players on the day plus other freebies for people donating kindly contributed by Forbidden Planet, the world’s largest and best-known science fiction, fantasy and cult entertainment retailer and Orbital, another great comic/manga/toy store in London. For people attending early and donating there will also be a goody bag! I would like to stress that  you do not have to enter the tournaments! Just come join us watching the matches, chatting about the topics of the day, enjoying a tipple or two or bash out some duel screen gaming! We are are aiming to get between 50 – 100 people.

The tournament structure will be knockout and entry will be £3 for all tournaments. A recommended donation of £2 will be asked of all other people joining us for the day to casually play or else socialise with other like-minded gamers. All donations go to Comic Relief.

The event will be held at the The Gallery, ULU Student union bar, Malet Street. Nearest tube Goodge Street. Alternative tube stations are Euston Square and Warren Street.

Registration will be from 2 – 4pm with tournament rounds starting at 4pm. We are hoping to finish at about 8pm. There will be also projectors setup to view the tournaments during play so that people can also watch as well as play!

Please note there will be a bar available on site and as there will be alcohol served on the premises, this event is for over 18’s only.

Want to know more? Come to the discussion thread in the Ready Up forums.

I suppose I did learn a few things from Microsoft Encarta 95 & the DK Childrens Encyclopedia but I ‘played’ more than ‘learned’. See although they cater the whole give the child a lollipop because they know what six times seven is, the bad thing about it was I became more attentive to collect awards than actually appreciating the education software itself. Hence today I have not really remembered anything that those games were meant to have taught me. Don’t phone me if you’re on Who Wants To Be A Millionare!

Now the software came free with our first PC, okay I say ‘our’ but it was more of my brothers machine. I was the annoying little sister that would stumble into the room and wrap around the Monitor like a starfish. At times I guess he’d be pretty hesitant to try pulling ‘tiny’ Shaz away from the computer when I’m at my all time high, ruling over Age of Empires.

A large chunk windows gaming may have shaped my teenage years. Microsoft 3D Movie Maker and the Simpsons Cartoon Studio enabled me to develop scripting, recording, animation and editing at a young age, perhaps this was the underlying influence to my interest in BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts. Recently I purchased ‘You’re in the Movies’ which has become another new excuse for me to behave silly in front of a camera.

The Ejay series opened creativity in the music field, I dug up my old album back from when my alternate name at 14 years old was Razmatazz Shaz (cute huh?). In fact I’ve done the pleasure to upload some tracks of oh-so-stunning hits here (cringes and cackles.) The inspirations of Ejay got me involved in using music production software e.g Fruity Loops & Cubase, studying music GCSE, self teaching the guitar, piano, singing and the experience of gigging with two bands. Nowadays I enjoy occasionally jamming on the guitar and heck I plead guilty to playing Lips or Singstar by myself.

So a portion of the past explains a bit of what makes me today. I believe that the Win95/98 games have somewhat led me to tune in with developing certain skills. Movie maker gaming led to performing arts and creative writing which here I am, writing on Ready Up. The music and singing? Well my dreams crumbled as I’ll never compare to Kirsten.

Anyway along the way of adding game trailers, teasers, demos and the like to the download list, I stumbled over something interesting. Soon after downloading and watching a particular title, which first struck me because of it’s peculiar name, I’ve got to say I’m a little proud that for once I’ve found something by myself and not from word of mouth. Combine Dante (Devil May Cry) and Vanessa (P.N.03) in a pot, add a bit of sexy glamour, a slice of cheese and this makes the next exciting title from Hideki Kamiya, Bayonetta.

Holsters on heels who’d have thought of it? It’s a fast, stylish action game with plenty of demon butt-kicking and there’s just something about the charm of this fun-loving, confident Bayonetta (her name is awesome alone!) The leading lady also has ancient powers to throw over the top combat skills which adds dynamics to the game. I can imagine this is going to be a pretty awesome adrenaline experience but unfortunately there’s not much to reveal just yet in terms of story. It’s still awaiting announcement too but it is planned for 2009.

I’m wowed by her, Dante may cry but this chick is going to be the next hottest party. In the meantime here’s some tasty screen shots but seriously, you’ve got to check out the trailers!

There’s no denying that these days we find ourselves glancing over the comic based games and wishing we were kids again because that’s all these games seem to cater for. What happened to our favourite heroes? The past years have seen them being churned into entirely different personas, leaving the majority of adult gamers reluctant to bother… until now. Thanks to Eidos and Rocksteady Games faith and loyalty will be restored to many of our hearts.

Based on the DC Universe comics, it’s a welcome return for the dark knight. The opening of the preview was quick in drawing the room into the dark, nitty, gritty setting of Arkham Asylum where we find Batman having caught the Joker, escorting him back into custody. Built with the Unreal engine, hearing the reputable voices of Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark Hammil (Joker), the traditional colours and comic style graphics in the game menus and armed with the fantastic writings of Paul Dini (thank you for the ever awesome 90’s cartoons ‘Batman: The Animated Series’!). The entire combination captures the rich, disturbing environment as successfully as Bioshock and also pulls off a sweet introduction sequence with the credits. There’s no doubt that Batman: Arkham Asylum is setting new standards to comic games.

Naturally you couldn’t help but let out a faint gasp or a little chuckle when recognising villians in the foreground or background. At the same time we’re engaged in the moments of suspense upon meeting a few up close; all the while our infamous Joker is up to his old cheeky tricks and we’re entertained with him taunting everyone constantly. It’s no surprise that the Joker, partnered by the cold-hearted, sexy villainess, Harley Quinn soon turns the events around in his favour. The Joker escapes and disappears out of sight and Arkham Asylum becomes his playground. From here on we’re witnessing the scary change of authority, in one scene a prisoner was electrocuting one of the guards in a chair, toxic gas was set off on guards and prisoners, convicts roam the place and there’s the threat of other super-villains lurking free. The big anticipation is who will you bump into?

Batman has a free flow combat, encouraging the player to link their moves varied from punches, kicks and vaulting over enemies. As well as the basic blocks of attack (X button), stuns (Y Button) and counters (e.g whipping out the Batarang) the more action packed in it’ll contribute to the XP system (which is indicated by a shadow of flapping bats). Fighting criminals, saving lives of the good and bad (which is amusing when our big, bad-ass Batman knocks them out ‘just incase’), solving puzzles all add to gaining experience points. The points enhance your combat skills and gadgets such as the grappling hook, batarang and bat claw, to name a few.

Some may want to run around with Batman punching baddies in the face but there is freedom to how you approach situations. The game is open for both aggressive and stealthy players, you’ll be able to sneak around silently with the ability to zip up to platforms above and to observe the scene before tackling anyone. Perhaps put a little fear into the enemies as you fling yourself from above, attack a thug and leave him tied up hanging upside down in the air from a ledge. Hints of Metal Gear Solid or Tenchu elements come to mind and the A.I. will respond to what’s going on around them. They’ll spot something that doesn’t feel right, shout for Batman to reveal himself, group up together to hunt you down, split off, become frustrated or begin to panic. A particular feature shown through the preview was the ‘detective mode’ (Left Bumper) which shows points of interests to help game progression and skeletal mugs of characters around you.

Now here’s a cheer for the achievement hungry or completionist gamers, adding a bit of humour there’ll be plenty of Joker’s chattering teeth to hunt and destroy. Also placed all over in the Asylum are Riddler’s question mark trophies and these side quests will add a little exploration alongside the stand alone storyline. The other bonus to your findings is that it’ll unlock a range of character biographies too.

So I’ve revealed to you a little more on the upcoming title and I’m pretty glad of the more mature approach to Batman: Arkham Asylum. While there’s still some time to wait out, I’ll dip back into the cartoon series and the good old comics to feed my need. I’m highly looking forward to this game and so should you!

Honestly? I’ve had no previous experience with Battlestations: Midway. I vaguely knew of what was in store for me as I trotted along through the corridors of Eidos into their LAN gaming room. The last time I had touched any kind of ‘flight sim’ was Battlefield 2 on the PC, although my attempts to fly choppers and jets were pretty much an automatic ‘fail’. Then, to go even further into my younger years, my first ever flight gaming was Star Fox on the SNES (Corneria theme tune FTW!)

I was pretty aware that my soldiering days mostly took place on land with Call of Duty 4 or over command maps such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. Battlestations was set to make me face the territories I feared the most, the wars of the skies and the depths of the murky seas. As I sat down to one of the many LAN 360s I chuckled to myself, “Well, a good full hour to get my butt pwned!”

The preview was a case in point that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Many had convinced me of the ignorant idea that Battlestations would be just for the slow paced, mature WW2 fans. Impressions of huge, slow lugging ships that only saw as much action as being ‘crapped on’ by seagulls; empty skies where planes take more than half an hour to come into contact only to misfire and have to take an extra half hour to turn for another jousting round. I urge you not to overlook or misjudge the Battlestations series, because it cannot be matched in the varied intensity of the levels. One minute the opposition draws closer to intimidate; the next all hell breaks loose. All the while the game is looking incredibly sophisticated.

So, let’s tuck in to the important part of the preview; the multi-player aspect of Battlestations: Pacific. I had the aid of an Eidos developer, Saty, who sat beside me. I felt a bit like I was back in school, revising historic combat vehicles, but with a personal advisor at hand it only took me about three minutes to get the hang of the controls and menu system.

Siege Mode: This allows one side to defend a base with their units while the other attempts to take over it. I already have my favourite unit scouted out for when the game launches. All beginners or generally crazy gamers will love the Japanese Kamikaze planes. I had the upper-hand in bringing the win with these agile units, barrel-rolling the skies and smacking straight into enemy ships! Yes, there were plenty of ‘woo-hoos’ and ‘woahs’ from myself while I felt proud to be the cheeky nipper of the skies.

Competitive Mode: All players are on the same side in this mode but it’s a case of who is the first to complete the number of kills/objectives. Surprisingly I won again, with Saty’s help! My insider’s advice which I’ll generously pass on to you here is that you’d do well to remember the order of your weaponry and throw everything you’ve got while your four other weapons are reloading; anti-air guns for picking up cheap points from nearby planes, quick alternation between two torpedoes and artillery fire. More points are scored for killing golden targets on the mini-map. Respawns don’t leave you too far from the action and sometimes you’re dropped right back in the thick of it, which keeps the pace of the competition.

Island Capture Mode: This is, to my mind, the ‘master mode’. If you’re a newcomer to the genre like me, I’d advise you to get to grips with the first two modes before tackling this one. Here we have a combination of planes and ships, with a strategy map as an extra side dish. As the title suggests the aim is to dominate the capture points of the map. This was a pure test of ‘keeping an eye on things’ and proves that Battlestations: Pacific is one of a kind in offering you close cut combat side by side with ‘birds eye view’ commanding.

Time flew faster than I expected as we were only set for sessions of around 15 minute rounds. You can set a round for four hours, and trust me, from what I’ve played, it is definitely an option.

The preview has me hungry for more. While Battlestations is still in the making, my toes are twinkling with excitement for more multi-player modes beyond what I’ve tried and I’ve yet to see what the single player campaign will be like.

There’s the ‘best of both worlds’ feeling in terms of environment and gameplay styles with Battlestations: Pacific. Don’t let this genre intimidate you; whether you’re a war veteran or not, even those who have enjoyed the pleasures of a game of chess, Battlestations is the way to further your strategy and action skills. I’m afraid Eidos won’t be able to provide staff to personally advise each and every one of you while you’re fighting the wars as they did for me, however the single player campaigns will get anyone up to scratch on learning tactics in depth and hey, you might just best your elders when it comes to telling war stories.

Battlestations: Pacific has depth and complexity, yet is highly accessible and if you give it a chance, you’ll be rewarded well. The prospects of Battlestations catering for solo or team play means there’ll be plenty of scenarios, skirmish maps and longevity, especially with the future downloadable content. It’s going to be a long war – and it’s going to be fun!