Highschool of the Dead

The other week I came across something so awesome that I am now addicted. That awesomeness if none other than Highschool of the Dead! What’s this got to do with gaming? Well not a great deal but I don’t care; there are references so that will do. It has zombies, yes zombies, does it need anything else? Press the magic button and we shall continue this inside [pops kettle on].

Waiting...

Don't you just hate it when you know that something is making its way proudly to you and you are sat at the door waiting like a small boy waiting for a new toy?

That’s exactly what I am currently doing! It doesn’t matter that I am getting Mafia 2 free, courtesy of 2K Games. I want the game now; it should have been here yesterday! It doesn’t matter that it was only sent out yesterday either. It should have been here immediately.

Look, see, no bleeding postman

Now my strange attitude will probably explain why people go out and buy games in a shop without thinking about getting things cheaper. I can say that I have been guilty of this in the past. Now I like to shop about more, get more for my money.

What’s even more amusing is that I am sat near the window with the blinds open practically looking down the street for sight of a man that probably won’t have the bleeding thing in the first place.

I keep thinking that if I didn’t know it was coming then I wouldn’t be doing this, then I keep thinking that I would just find some other excuse to wait impatiently by the window, waiting to give the postman a piece of my mind, even though he comes at the same time (1pm) every day.

Do you guys do this? Do you sit waiting just in case you have to sign?

Twisted, Open Storytelling of Alan Wake

Last week was a good week as I finally got to play Alan Wake, which I had wanted to play since it came out. Having a rental account has its perks and when Lovefilm decided that they would send me it, I was happy as a pig in muck. Sticking in the game I started to play and throughout the entire game, it got me thinking. Is this game pure genius? Or is it a tragic waste of five years?

I will give you fair warning, there are some spoilers.

Borderlands: What I’d like in a sequel

One of the best games to come out of 2009 was Gearbox Software's Borderlands. This game has everything. It has class, it has replay value and it has so many different varieties of weapons that you can easily see why millions of people have been playing it all over the world. It’s been nearly a year since I bought two copies of the game for me and my girlfriend and set out on the epic mission of killing everything that dared to attack us as we traversed the world of Pandora. After several conversations with Andy C, we started to pull apart this masterpiece, not only praising Gearbox for successfully mashing together various different elements into the game, but finding ways that if we were the developers, we would improve it for the next game.

At this point I figured what the hell; maybe I should write this stuff down and see what the rest of the world thinks.

Review: Nier

I must say, when I got Nier through the post, I hadn’t really heard a great deal about it. All I knew was that it had been developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix, which wasn’t a great deal of information. I had heard things from people saying it was a one button affair and that it didn’t look anything special, but it didn’t put me off, after all, I have to formulate my own opinion don't I?

After putting the game in the tray I was greeted by an audio only monologue from a woman that seemed to be talking to a character called Weiss. I say talking. I mean shouting abuse and profanity at him in a comical yet erm… enthusiastic way. This was before I had even started the game. Hell, I hadn't even pressed start and new game, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the rest of the story was going to be as colourful. That said, I got the show on the road to find out if this game was worth shelling out for.

My gaming dry spell

It happens to every gamer and some point in time. Sometimes more than just the once. It's what I like to call the 'dry spell', where you pop a game in the console, start to play and promptly turn it right back off again. The will to play any game has completely disappeared and it doesn't matter what game is in the console, it could even be the newest game on the market that you have been waiting since forever for, it's like eating a really nice looking meal but one that tastes of nothing but sawdust.

The other week I had the chance to play a game that I had been awaiting since Eurogamer Expo last year in Aliens vs. Predator. It may not be a game of the year candidate but it was still one I wanted to play. Into the console I popped the disc and within ten minutes I wanted to play something else. I popped in another game and the same thing happened. Twenty two titles later it dawned on me, I hit a dry spell.

If this has happened to you before then you will know where I'm coming from, if not then you best expect one at some point in your gaming life. Either way, I suggest you read on.

Review: Earthworm Jim HD

1994 was a bad year. Fred West's house was excavated, Kurt Cobain killed himself and Ayrton Senna was killed during an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix. In fact if you look at all of that year you will see that there was probably little to celebrate. Saying that, one thing that was definitely worth celebrating about was the release of Shiny Entertainment's Earthworm Jim. This side-scrolling platform game had everything; class, charm and style and was well received around the world.

Some of you reading this will probably think I have gone mad, and want to know what's so interesting about an earthworm. Well the simple answer is this, Earthworm Jim raised the bar in games. It was praised heavily upon release, with Gamesmaster magazine gave it a whopping score of 100% (it was the first time they had awarded a game 100%) and one of the few classics that has been remade several times over the years. Speaking of remakes, the latest incarnation has been brought forward to XBLA and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. After all, what could be better than playing a classic in HD.

Sex in games: Where to draw the line

Sex in video games has always been taboo. It starts with a developer adding something to a game that people deem inappropriate, like a having sex with a prostitute in GTA, to being something more risqué like a topless character in Heavy Rain. Nine times out of ten these scenes or gameplay extras never usually make the final cut of the game due to the classification board not allowing them to be kept in.

Not so long ago, a major uproar occurred with a game called Rapelay, this game not only glorified sex, but glorified rape and incest, in what the majority of the world deemed socially unacceptable. Rape is something that has affected millions of women and men, and content like this can offend a lot of people. Jumping on the band wagon of hatred against the game news-desks around the world reported on the issue, only serving to further publicise the game. As the old saying goes, there is no such thing as bad press!

Motion control, losing control

As a gamer I like to sit back, relax while playing a game and make as little movement as possible! It’s not that I’m lazy or anything like that, but to me gaming is supposed to be a time for me to wind down, not getting wound up at frustrating controls or waving my arms around like a retarded chicken. Maybe with an attitude like that you may think I weigh in at a weight of twenty stone and counting with every slice of pizza, cream cake and beer that I consume. You couldn’t be more wrong, I would say I look athletic, but I don’t think you can classify an eleven stone empty wetsuit as athletic.

Why are console developers intent on trying to get us off our backsides by providing us with the bad idea that is motion control? Why are the big three always trying to make the “supposed” best gaming experience possible one where their only actual aim is to compete with the other manufacturers. Why do we have to complicate gaming even more than it already is? Is this something that we are as gamers are pushing for or are we being manipulated by the egos of our console manufacturer?

Now I know what you’re thinking; what could be possibly wrong with motion control in gaming?

Cliffy B, we love you, but...

In a recent interview on IGN, Cliff Bleszinski talked about the future of gaming and the Gears of War franchise. In the interview he expressed his support for motion controllers like  ‘Project Natal’ stating that he was preferring that over the other motion controllers, purely because you don’t need to hold anything in your hands. Cliffy B also talked about how he wanted Gears 2 to be a better experience when it was released, and that the issues with the online matchmaking was the single biggest disappointment for him and when it gets brought up it breaks his heart. He also stated that when he reads posts on online forums it hurt him how people identify with the big, buff characters and how there is a lot to be said for the background of the world he'd created.

One of the biggest statements that he made was that he has a Google alert for anything with ‘Gears of War’ in it and that he and the team read as much as they can so they call get the feedback, this includes forums posts too. What better way to test this statement by giving the TIMJ view on what should be considered next for Gears of War.

Ok, so this may be a long shot but here is hoping the powers the be make this article pop up on Cliffy B’s alert box so he can become a friend of TIMJ, and possibly comment on my thoughts.