Hi folks
This blog has now moved to http://www.screamouk.co.uk
Regards
Screamo
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
The New Solitaire
I've been looking for a very specific type of game for a while now and i've finally found it. I had been searching for the next Solitaire and no, I wasn't looking for another card game. Basically, I was after something that I could pick up and put down and also have a relaxing experience at the same time.
It's like, when you've had a long, hard day at work and you can't bring yourself to load up Call Of Duty for a frag fest and you don't have the motivation to continue that long Fallout 3 quest line you've been working on. All you want to do is collapse in your big comfortable chair and just play something without having to concentrate too hard or increase your heart rate.
At first I thought it could be Spore but, despite its appearance, it's too involved and isn't really designed for 20-30 minute play sessions, although I will be returning to it, of course.
Ladies and Gentleman, the new Solitare is... A Kingdom For Keflings.
It may seem like a strange claim but hear me out. A Kingdom For Keflings is a city building game in which you take on the role of a giant who construct's buildings for a race of little people called Keflings. Think Bob The Builder meets the Lilliputians from Gulliver's Travels. This XBLA title is 800 Microsoft Points (£6.50) and is only around 70Mb in size.
The gameplay involves assembling houses according to a blueprint. Each blue print specifies the number of different pieces you need and in which configuration they need to be placed. Each piece is made up of a certain number of resources i.e. Rock, Wood, Gems, Wool etc. However, you don't need to do all of the hard work yourself as you can get the Keflings to do almost everything for you. Simply pick up a Kefling and place them on the resource, then pick them up again and place them on the location you want the resource delivered.
This leaves you to choose which buildings you want to construct and selecting the relevant pieces from the workshops. You then pick up each piece as they are made and place them together according to the blueprint.
The graphics are simple without being overly childish and by far the coolest feature is the ability to use your Xbox Live Avatar as the giant. It's extremely funny to see my avatar, wearing a metal t-shirt and Converse, orchestrating little people in a medieval world. The music consists of a nice, folksy number which comes across as light hearted and isn't overly intrusive.
All-in-all its a great casual game and perfect for when you're not up to playing one of the many triple A titles that are available at the moment. Be careful though, as it's simple game mechanics and charming visuals can become somewhat addictive.
If you're unsure on whether this game is for you, a demo is available on Xbox Live Marketplace.
It's like, when you've had a long, hard day at work and you can't bring yourself to load up Call Of Duty for a frag fest and you don't have the motivation to continue that long Fallout 3 quest line you've been working on. All you want to do is collapse in your big comfortable chair and just play something without having to concentrate too hard or increase your heart rate.
At first I thought it could be Spore but, despite its appearance, it's too involved and isn't really designed for 20-30 minute play sessions, although I will be returning to it, of course.
Ladies and Gentleman, the new Solitare is... A Kingdom For Keflings.
It may seem like a strange claim but hear me out. A Kingdom For Keflings is a city building game in which you take on the role of a giant who construct's buildings for a race of little people called Keflings. Think Bob The Builder meets the Lilliputians from Gulliver's Travels. This XBLA title is 800 Microsoft Points (£6.50) and is only around 70Mb in size.
The gameplay involves assembling houses according to a blueprint. Each blue print specifies the number of different pieces you need and in which configuration they need to be placed. Each piece is made up of a certain number of resources i.e. Rock, Wood, Gems, Wool etc. However, you don't need to do all of the hard work yourself as you can get the Keflings to do almost everything for you. Simply pick up a Kefling and place them on the resource, then pick them up again and place them on the location you want the resource delivered.
This leaves you to choose which buildings you want to construct and selecting the relevant pieces from the workshops. You then pick up each piece as they are made and place them together according to the blueprint.
The graphics are simple without being overly childish and by far the coolest feature is the ability to use your Xbox Live Avatar as the giant. It's extremely funny to see my avatar, wearing a metal t-shirt and Converse, orchestrating little people in a medieval world. The music consists of a nice, folksy number which comes across as light hearted and isn't overly intrusive.
All-in-all its a great casual game and perfect for when you're not up to playing one of the many triple A titles that are available at the moment. Be careful though, as it's simple game mechanics and charming visuals can become somewhat addictive.
If you're unsure on whether this game is for you, a demo is available on Xbox Live Marketplace.
Saturday, 22 November 2008
Spore - Initial Impressions
Will Wright, the legendary creator of the Sims franchise, has always strived to make games that are less than conventional. His games are designed to allow the player to customise their experience to their individual preferences by providing a plethora of options and tools.
Spore takes these design elements to a whole new level. The game involves developing a being from a single celled organism to an all-powerful, space faring race.
As your creature evolves you acquire various body parts that you can add to it. The level of customisation is unparalleled and best of all, once you have finished fleshing out your creature (no pun intended), the game animates your character in a life-like manner. You can make your character dance, jump, laugh and cry – the parts you have used determine each animation.
All creatures are uploaded to a ‘Sporepedia’ database that makes them available to every other users game. Because of the variety in both creature creation and the other entities you encounter, no game is ever the same.
The game itself is a collection of mini games and at present I’ve only gotten as far as the first two. The first level of your evolution sees you begin as a single celled organism and involves consuming food and/or other organisms in a similar way to pac-man. To quote Qui Gon Jinn from Star Wars “there is always a bigger fish” so beware of organisms significantly larger than your creation. Once you have evolved to the point of sentience you develop legs and make your way on to land.
The second stage sees your fledgling species encounter other races that you can either make friends with or attack. This area of the game, also known as the creature stage, involves your creature exploring their surroundings and discovering the remnants of deceased creatures. Some have said that this is the make or break stage and players will either decide they can’t get enough of the game or will turn it off.
Personally, I’m thoroughly enthralled with the experience so far and I’m looking forward to progressing through the Tribe, Civilisation and Space stages. However, time will tell on whether this game has the depth in gameplay to compel me to play through it more than once. Spore is truly innovative in its design and provides users with a world in which you can truly customise your experience.
I’ll post further impressions on the later stages as I progress further.
Spore takes these design elements to a whole new level. The game involves developing a being from a single celled organism to an all-powerful, space faring race.
As your creature evolves you acquire various body parts that you can add to it. The level of customisation is unparalleled and best of all, once you have finished fleshing out your creature (no pun intended), the game animates your character in a life-like manner. You can make your character dance, jump, laugh and cry – the parts you have used determine each animation.
All creatures are uploaded to a ‘Sporepedia’ database that makes them available to every other users game. Because of the variety in both creature creation and the other entities you encounter, no game is ever the same.
The game itself is a collection of mini games and at present I’ve only gotten as far as the first two. The first level of your evolution sees you begin as a single celled organism and involves consuming food and/or other organisms in a similar way to pac-man. To quote Qui Gon Jinn from Star Wars “there is always a bigger fish” so beware of organisms significantly larger than your creation. Once you have evolved to the point of sentience you develop legs and make your way on to land.
The second stage sees your fledgling species encounter other races that you can either make friends with or attack. This area of the game, also known as the creature stage, involves your creature exploring their surroundings and discovering the remnants of deceased creatures. Some have said that this is the make or break stage and players will either decide they can’t get enough of the game or will turn it off.
Personally, I’m thoroughly enthralled with the experience so far and I’m looking forward to progressing through the Tribe, Civilisation and Space stages. However, time will tell on whether this game has the depth in gameplay to compel me to play through it more than once. Spore is truly innovative in its design and provides users with a world in which you can truly customise your experience.
I’ll post further impressions on the later stages as I progress further.
Friday, 21 November 2008
NXE - Silence is Deafening
Since the release of the NXE on wednesday there have been a number of reported issues ranging from crashes in the dashboard/intermittent freezing to the dreaded 'Red Ring of Death'. Microsoft has acknowledged these issues and, according to Major Nelson, they are being 'actively worked on'.
It has also been brought to my attention by a friend of mine, that following the installation of the NXE, some users have lost sound altogether. This problem is exclusive to users who have their sound running through a HDMI cable but strangely, not all are affected. My friend initially didnt encounter any issues during the update process but after switching his console on the following day, he found that he didnt have any audio output.
After a bit of research on the interwebs and after sifting through all of the temporary fixes (one of which recommended plugging in the hard drive with the console turned on!!!) I found a post on one of IGN's forums that seemed like a likely scenario.
According to the poster who phoned the My Xbox number, they were told that the NXE only utilised the AV portion of the cable meaning that the audio portion wasn't being used. A slight oversight for a console thats geared towards high-definition gaming in both visuals and sound. Presumably Microsoft will be releasing a patch in the near future.
In the meantime, those people who are experiencing a loss of sound will have to resort to using their component cable that shipped with their Xbox.
It has also been brought to my attention by a friend of mine, that following the installation of the NXE, some users have lost sound altogether. This problem is exclusive to users who have their sound running through a HDMI cable but strangely, not all are affected. My friend initially didnt encounter any issues during the update process but after switching his console on the following day, he found that he didnt have any audio output.
After a bit of research on the interwebs and after sifting through all of the temporary fixes (one of which recommended plugging in the hard drive with the console turned on!!!) I found a post on one of IGN's forums that seemed like a likely scenario.
According to the poster who phoned the My Xbox number, they were told that the NXE only utilised the AV portion of the cable meaning that the audio portion wasn't being used. A slight oversight for a console thats geared towards high-definition gaming in both visuals and sound. Presumably Microsoft will be releasing a patch in the near future.
In the meantime, those people who are experiencing a loss of sound will have to resort to using their component cable that shipped with their Xbox.
Thursday, 20 November 2008
NXE: Initial Impressions
Yesterday was d-day for Microsoft's dashboard update, dubbed the New Xbox Experience. The installation of the update was as simple as turning the xbox on and waiting for it to download the necessary files.
From start to finish the process took around 10-15mins, after which point, I was presented with the words we have been promised for what seems like an eternity. "Welcome to the New Xbox Experience".
After the welcome message I was presented with the Avatar builder, Xbox's version of Wii's Mii avatars. Your avatars are infinitely more customizable compared to their Nintendo counterparts and we've already been promised new clothing updates every two weeks. Below is my avatar who is based on my likeness... well, sort of.
You may be wondering how to get your avatar to display like mine. All you have to do is enter in the following URL's for a full body shot, a large headshot and a small headshot, respectively.
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/YOUR_GAMER_ID_HERE/avatar-body.png
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/YOUR_GAMER_ID_HERE/avatarpic-l.png
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/YOUR_GAMER_ID_HERE/avatarpic-s.png
After creating my avatar and taking a picture of him for my Gamercard (you can keep your existing gamer pic if you wish), I proceeded to explore the new menu system. I really like the new layout and this menu, although it reminds me of a similar system on the PS3, it truly feels 'next gen'. The blades from the original dashboard, whilst functional, were somewhat uninspired and lacked the visual polish of it's successor. I would much prefer however, for the default channel to be My Xbox rather than the Spotlight Channel.
Your friends list now shows not only what they are playing but what level they're on, which is a nice touch. Themes from the old dashboard can be used but some don't display correctly.
The feature I was most looking forward to was the ability to install games to the hard drive. Not only are load times significantly decreased but also the constant 'wurring' noise of the disc drive is eliminated, enabling near silent operation. World at War's loading times were almost cut in half and playing the game without the noise from the Xbox was awesome. World at War took around 10 minutes to install, which wasn't too bad. Whilst this feature improves the overal experience, you may find yourself forking out for larger hard drives. The new Xbox Live Starter Kit retails for around £50 and is available on 21-11-2008. The kit is comprised of a 60Gb hard drive, a wired headset, a 3month Live subscription and an ethernet cable.
I haven't had a chance to check out the party features, but once I do, i'll post my thoughts here.
My initial impression so far is that this is a great update for the Xbox. Whilst the introduction of Avatars seems somewhat trivial at present, their integration in to future games could prove to be quite popular. The menu is as functional as it's predecessor and looks far more modern. By far the nicest addition is the game installation feature, which I will use for the games I play most regularly. Good job Microsoft.
From start to finish the process took around 10-15mins, after which point, I was presented with the words we have been promised for what seems like an eternity. "Welcome to the New Xbox Experience".
After the welcome message I was presented with the Avatar builder, Xbox's version of Wii's Mii avatars. Your avatars are infinitely more customizable compared to their Nintendo counterparts and we've already been promised new clothing updates every two weeks. Below is my avatar who is based on my likeness... well, sort of.
You may be wondering how to get your avatar to display like mine. All you have to do is enter in the following URL's for a full body shot, a large headshot and a small headshot, respectively.
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/YOUR_GAMER_ID_HERE/avatar-body.png
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/YOUR_GAMER_ID_HERE/avatarpic-l.png
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/YOUR_GAMER_ID_HERE/avatarpic-s.png
After creating my avatar and taking a picture of him for my Gamercard (you can keep your existing gamer pic if you wish), I proceeded to explore the new menu system. I really like the new layout and this menu, although it reminds me of a similar system on the PS3, it truly feels 'next gen'. The blades from the original dashboard, whilst functional, were somewhat uninspired and lacked the visual polish of it's successor. I would much prefer however, for the default channel to be My Xbox rather than the Spotlight Channel.
Your friends list now shows not only what they are playing but what level they're on, which is a nice touch. Themes from the old dashboard can be used but some don't display correctly.
The feature I was most looking forward to was the ability to install games to the hard drive. Not only are load times significantly decreased but also the constant 'wurring' noise of the disc drive is eliminated, enabling near silent operation. World at War's loading times were almost cut in half and playing the game without the noise from the Xbox was awesome. World at War took around 10 minutes to install, which wasn't too bad. Whilst this feature improves the overal experience, you may find yourself forking out for larger hard drives. The new Xbox Live Starter Kit retails for around £50 and is available on 21-11-2008. The kit is comprised of a 60Gb hard drive, a wired headset, a 3month Live subscription and an ethernet cable.
I haven't had a chance to check out the party features, but once I do, i'll post my thoughts here.
My initial impression so far is that this is a great update for the Xbox. Whilst the introduction of Avatars seems somewhat trivial at present, their integration in to future games could prove to be quite popular. The menu is as functional as it's predecessor and looks far more modern. By far the nicest addition is the game installation feature, which I will use for the games I play most regularly. Good job Microsoft.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
