A few more from the IOCT

So, in preparation for tomorrow's open day, I had a run through a few of the games the IOCT has for its other consoles.

Wii:
Super Mario Galaxy: So, other than a bit of Super Mario 64 back in he day, this is the first proper Mario game I've ever played (honestly, I was always more of a Sonic fan). I've gotta say this is one of the most fun games I've ever played. The controls feel really natural and it's a lot more comfortable than holding a standard controller. The concept of the game is great too. It really does interesting things with the concept of a platform game in a 3D environment. The changes in direction/orientation can get confusing at times, but it's still fun. Definitely a game that makes me wish I owned a Wii.

Xbox 360:

Ridge Racer 6: This game is horrible. While I'm not so great at racing games, I still usually find them enjoyable. This one isn't. The cars feel annoyingly slow. My car was apparently doing over 100mph, but it mostly felt more like I was doing 30. The handling is bad too. The slightest nudge of the analogue stick would just send my car into a skid. The music was horribly annoying and repetitive as well, with no way to change what was playing. All this annoyed me so much, I couldn't even be bothered to finish one race.

Perfect Dark Zero: As I've said before, I'm not a big fan of FPS games and this is no exception. My main gripe is the way the movement/camera controls work on a console. Somehow I always end up having no idea what I'm looking at or what direction I should be going in, etc. I much prefer a third-person view, as it means that when I need to be close to something, I don't have my view completely obscured. Other than my standard gripes about FPS games, it was quite a good game. The visuals on the 360 were great and the storyline was interesting. If it had been more of Tomb Raider style third-person game, I probably would've really enjoyed it.

07/02/08 - 14/02/08

Games I've been playing this week:

I've played a fair few games over 3 different systems this week, a Playstation 3, an Xbox and my Playstation 2.

PS3:

Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction: (Demo) Seems like a great game from what I've seen. Very enjoyable and reminds me a bit of Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast (but without the focus on speed). Definitely delivers on the PS3's graphics potential.

Timeshift: (Demo) I've never been a big fan of FPS games as I always find aiming difficult, but the Timeshift ability definitely helps with that. The Timeshift ability also makes for some great effects. Definitely a game I'd pick up if I owned a PS3 (or Xbox 360, or a good enough PC).

Burnout: Paradise: (Demo) Another great game graphically, though (as my friend Alex pointed out) the "shininess" of the graphics means they tend to lack a certain realism. The demo didn't really allow much scope to check out what you could do, but mostly it was just fun crashing the car and watching it in spectacular slow motion.

Nucleus: A simple little game that wasn't really that interesting. Definitely not something I'd choose over playing something else on the PS3.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga: A very fun game that's great to play with someone else, especially as it allows you to attack their character (at one point I had to stop playing as I was laughing too hard from doing this). There's some great touches in it, like C-3PO hopping around with missing limbs after being attacked, or how silly Chewbacca looks with a Stormtrooper helmet on.

PS2:

Burnout 3: Takedown: Obviously the graphics aren't as good as "Paradise", but still a great game. Obviously being a full game rather than just a demo, there's a lot more scope to do things. It strikes me as a game for people who don't necessarily "like" racing games. It rewards bad driving and crashes (though winning a race will also help) and various other things along those lines. I've always been someone who never wanted to learn exactly when to brake in order to take a certain corner best or whatever, preferring instead to see what stupid things I can do with my car to entertain myself. Definitely the perfect racing game for me.

Hitman: Contracts: An interesting game that I haven't played much. It's definitely a game I'll have to spend some time on, as I've never been good at being stealthy in games. Some initial gripes were that the joystick set-up was confusing, but I found I could change that, and that I couldn't read the health meter very well, but I soon worked it out after I'd been shot at a lot and subsequently died.

Xbox:

Batman Begins: Initially picked up for my housemate as Gamestation didn't have any more games available that she wanted and I knew she liked the film. A straightforward and enjoyable game with some nice touches (like how when you're near an enemy, you hear their heartbeat and the controller rumbles with each beat). It's been criticised for being too simple, but for someone like me or my housemate, it's perfect. Plus, being Batman is awesome!

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc: This game is very much a platform game. A good game with some great humorous touches. However, the transition sections between worlds where you have to skate along platforms and jump onto another as one ends, can become rather tedious as they are quite long.