Article: Virtual Console hits 100: Multiplayer Essentials

Is nostalgia making you bankrupt?

The unveiling of the Wii’s Virtual Console marked an exciting point for Nintendo fans worldwide- an online database chocked to the brim with timeless titles, allowing older generations to redeem themselves from the guilt of having sold their Snes collection, and introducing a younger generation to the boundless joys of four-player N64 games. Europe’s VC has recently hit its first landmark, with 100 titles now available for download on the service. Whilst the Virtual Console has yet failed to live up to the hype, falling short of the promise of providing only ‘handpicked classics’, there’s still a great selection of titles that are genuinely worth your hard earned cash.

Let’s face it- multiplayer games ain’t what they used to be boys and girls, and as awesome as online co-op and worldwide ranking systems may be, there’s still nothing better than sitting down with a few friends and having a night in with some oldschool split-screen action. So, to coincide with Nintendo’s VC landmark we’ve thrown together a selection of the few titles that have stood the test of time, providing players with more than fleeting nostalgia followed by a sense of emptiness to match your wallet.

Below you’ll find a selection of multiplayer VC titles with real staying power, the chosen few that’ll keep your Wii from gathering dust until long after the thrill of Wii Sports has faded, so grab a few friends and some points cards and before you know it the summer drought will seem like a distant memory…


F-Zero X








You’ve got BOOST POWER!

Whilst the flow of N64 games onto the Virtual Console has been as stingy as a morphine drip in a rehab centre, it’s also fair to say that unlike many of the other available formats’ releases the games released have been absolutely cracking- and Nintendo’s 100th VC title F-Zero X is no different. Combining OTT cock-rock soundtracks and breakneck speeds with a colour scheme that would make Laurence Llewelyn Bowen wince- F-zero X is shamelessly kitsch fun for all the family. Whilst not as difficult as it’s Gamecube successor GX, It has to be said that the immediate pick up and play value for multiplayer isn’t as great as Mario Kart 64, requiring you to put a little practice in first before the 4 player racing really comes into its own; but put a bit of time into it, and you’re looking at one of the most entertaining splitscreen racers available.


Bomberman '93







The ultimate party game for easing in non-gamers for the VC session ahead- Essential!

One of the VC’s release titles, Hudson’s classic never fails to deliver- whilst not as complex as later Bomberman titles, the TurboGrafx iteration is delightfully simple, sharp, and fantastic fun. The ability to play with 5 people rather than the traditional 4 makes for an unrivalled pick up and play party game. Sure, there’s only one music track for multiplayer, and after a few hours it’ll have driven you slightly mad- but isn’t that part the fun of Bomberman? Doo Dee Doo, Doo Dee Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo…


Dr. Robotnik's
Mean Bean Machine




Perhaps a little pricey, but find a rival and you’ll get your moneys worth on VS mode!

Also available on a Sega compilation disc for the GameCube, Mean Bean Machine is essentially just Puyo Pop with a lick of hedgehog branded paint. There’s not much to say about MBM other than that it’s an absolutely cracking head to head puzzler, with its dark but colourful presentation and grimy soundtrack those looking for a title to maintain a grudge over with someone special should seriously consider picking this up- It’s addictive, tense, and ridiculously competitive. Unless you’ve got access to a copy of Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, you’ll not go far wrong giving this a pop.


Lylat Wars








Shaky with a couple of players, but unlock the extra content and get four people in on the action and you’re onto a real winner.

Admittedly much of the glory of Lylat Wars lies in the single player campaign and its immense replay value, but once you’ve unlocked the Landmaster for multiplayer (a tank that rolls and swerves about with a delightfully chunky sense of inertia) the four player deathmatch games start to evolve into pretty satisfying and tense battles. Unfortunately Lylat Wars’ multiplayer graphics haven’t aged well at all, the arenas look particularly sparse and blocky and the fog range in retrospect seems pretty hilarious. Despite all this however, once you’ve got four players who’ve a vague grasp of the controls things really start to heat up, a few games quickly turning into a grudge fuelled session. It is important to note however that as a one on one dogfighter Lylat Wars doesn’t make the grade anymore, but as with F-zero X: Get four seasoned pilots and it’s an absolute blast.


Gunstar Heroes






Easily one of the best co-op Megadrive games made: A cult classic that’s not to be missed!

Probably one of the finest two-player action games ever made. Why? An innovative weapon selection system, a perfect control system, excellent character design, and more explosions than you can shake a stick at. Grab another friend and you’re guaranteed a co-op experience that’ll put most of the guff you’ve played in the past 5 years to shame. Showcasing Treasure’s talents at their peak, Gunstar Heroes is packed full of atmosphere, humour, innovative design, and fantastic characters. Classic.


Mario
Kart 64






More pizzazz than a truckload of Fonz.

Despite the fuzzy edges and dodgy sprites Mario Kart 64 remains a fantastic four player racer that’s often able to seduce even the most stoic of ‘non-gamers’ into a few laps- The tried and tested item handicap system arguably works at its best in the N64 iteration, keeping an element of chaos in the proceedings that often result in sudden and unexpected reversals of fortune. Having aged terribly well MK64 still looks great and plays beautifully, and when combined with Bomberman ’93 you’ve got a veritable sandwich of four-player tastiness that’ll keep hunger locked up till September.

Review: Defcon

War… War Never Changes.

Defcon is a game about nuclear war. You choose a continent, ally with other players and then everyone kills as many people as they possibly can; launching off nukes in a final strike for worldwide supremacy as you coldly gaze upon the sterile vectors of the world map, a style reminiscent of the 80’s classic Wargames and the seminal Dr. Strangelove.

Now, when you’re playing a game, things get shaken up a bit. That is the idea of it all, really, you plug it all in and then suddenly you feel like you are somewhere else, detached from reality ever so slightly whilst you whip around whatever new custom world those lovely boys from the computer game factory have churned out for you. Striving for photorealism and surround sound, it is safe to say that the key word in pushing the games industry forward is immersion, ramping up the quality and the consistency of what we perceive when playing a game as an effort to make the player feel more involved with the experience as a whole. Now, the guys who made Defcon don’t aim for the sky with immersion; they just give you exactly what it says on the tin: Introversion.

Defcon is a title that feels reminiscent of one of Introversions earlier titles, the excellent Uplink; a game which put you in the position of a freelance hacker, trading off traditional computer game polish to imbue the game with a sense of realism. There were no characters of note in Uplink, the focus firmly locked on you as a player. There was no visible avatar being controlled as you frantically attempted to download files illegally from a private database, but in my case there was however a nervous bloke sat behind a keyboard drinking far too much coffee as he attempted to get the data to his client without being caught by the imaginary fuzz.

This is too is the beauty of Defcon: with no characters to empathise with, no avatar to mould yourself to, no enveloping environments to lose yourself in; the sense of immersion provided by this game is a purely introspective one. There are no middlemen here simply you, in a chair, giving orders. If anyone’s going to screw up and kill millions, it will be you. The slight sense of dread this conjures up is a testament to how well Introversion have nailed the hot seat sensation; all the choices you make feel consequential and you only have a few moments to make those decisions which are then followed by an excruciating wait to see if the call you made was a good one; things start to get pretty tense.

Defcon at heart is little more than a very simple strategy game about planning and politics. The unit allowances for each game are fixed; each game you build missile silos, radars, and air strips around your continent along with a small fleet of ships and then you simply sit back, give your fleet some orders to begin moving into position and simply wait for the Defcon counter to tick on down… Despite the pace of battles initially seeming fairly slow, after hitting Defcon 1 however all lights are green for nukes. The haze of missiles gracefully curling between nations quickly becomes chaotic; nuclear blasts mapping out a landscape of blotches depicting a world soon to be in ruin. Unfortunately, often things are just too chaotic. The outcome of ship battles is regularly accountable for the final result of a match and they quickly become impossible to keep track of, appearing to be nothing more than a mashed up blob of vector soup.

An essential factor for winning a game of Defcon is timing; firing off nukes not only to the right place, but also at the right time. When playing on a higher game speed the timing required is often difficult to master and the game often seems to become more a matter of luck. At the same time playing on lower speeds increases the importance of strategic timing, but also tends to make the game rather dull. This is especially noticeable when losing a game of Defcon; making a last minute comeback is practically impossible and it is not uncommon to realize one’s own defeat within the first few minutes of a game.

Defcon is, however, one of the most effective titles I have played in years: watching the millions of deaths rack up as the nukes fall on the cities below, whilst you listen to an ethereal soundtrack interspersed with the coughs and screams of those suffering from radiation poisoning; Defcon is nothing short of haunting. Each game leaving you with a dark sense of remorse at the blood on your hands. This is both a blessing and a curse, the inconsequential figures of millions dead makes the game itself seem deeply futile after not too long- Defcons’ moniker Everybody Dies rings true to a great extent in terms of the apathy you begin to feel regarding who wins or loses.

Defcon is both beautiful and horrible: your view of the world seeming ever chaotic, but also serene. The sharp colourful electronic jagged edges mapping out imagery to please the eyes, but disturb the mind. I have no shame in saying that Defcon is art; it is just not a very good game. I would highly recommend playing it; as an experience it is not one you will want to miss. At the same time, however, as a game there is not enough beef to it to keep you hooked for very long. The prevalence of style over substance feels very much a part of the game’s design and to an extent I am pretty sure that the mechanics I have criticised are purposeful; adding to the sensational experience of playing Defcon.

Unfortunately, once the fun of pretending to be Ron Perlman trapped in a bunker had worn off and I had become desensitised to the guilt of killing millions, most of Defcon’s fun was gone. In terms of presentation Defcon is unparalleled; graphically the game is stunning and the overall emotive nature of playing makes it one of the most intelligent pieces of interactive art I have ever seen, a true exploration of the sterile nature of war and the ease of nuclear destruction. Defcon is amazing, it is just not a very good game. If you have not played the demo already it is worth picking up purely because introversion are bundling in Uplink for free too, which is quite simply an incredible game on all counts.

Introversion have given us a mixed-quality bag of games, but through innovative minimalism they are well on their way to becoming masters of emotional storytelling, Defcon and Uplink as a package may only entertain you for a week or two, but the experience I can guarantee will be a unique one. Horses for courses, eh?

A flawed game, but a fantastic experience.

Graphics 10
Gameplay 6
Sound 9
Lifespan 4

Overall 7.0

Review: The Red Star

Perfection for Pennies

A casualty of Acclaim’s bankruptcy, The Red Star never made it to US shelves for its intended late 2004 release on Xbox and PS2, and the torch was handed to XS games who ensured the title didn’t slip away entirely into the abyss of canned-game obscurity. So first up, it’s important to note that this game is essentially about three years old, and that’s definitely something reflected by the graphical presentation of The Red Star. The design is pretty chunky and simplified, although this simplicity does give the game a distinctly sharp feel, what the character models lack in detail they more than make up for with brilliantly fluid animation.
The Red Star doesn’t need to be beautiful though, because it’s sexy as hell and filled to the brim with exhilarating moments, and not those borne of the inventive set-piece work that many games now rely on. The Red Star, rather than rewarding your skill with a segment of FMV story or unlockable junk to peruse, gives you nothing more than a genuine sense of satisfaction, and it’s all you’ll want for. Mercilessly battering the final enemy in a wave that caused you some serious beef gives you a fantastic sense of retribution, spotting an enemy about to hit your co-op partner and sharply dashing across to save them feels worthwhile, and important. Weaving your way around a shower of bullets on a sliver of health, the frantic few seconds of terror while you wait for your gun coolant to kick in, beating that end of level boss despite the odds being stacked against you; these moments and many more, they all feel nothing short of priceless.

Now, the one player mode is pretty damn fun for sure, but this is a game that comes into its own when playing co-op. Personally I’d bluntly put it that most modern co-op games are absolute rubbish, completely missing the point; A great co-op experience is about sitting down with a friend and struggling. It shouldn’t be about running through a game with ease, it should be about trying ‘one more time’, raising your game. This game isn’t a breeze, many of the levels took us a fair few tries to crack, some of the bosses in particular required us to stop and actually plan tactics in advance to ensure victory, but by god that victory feels good… For those familiar with the title (which is currently available on the Wii VC service, and is well worth picking up) The Red Star is as much fun with two players as Gunstar Heroes, a game that for more than ten years has been undoubtedly my favourite co-op game by miles. I’ll try and keep the gushing to a minimum here, but it’s safe to say that The Red Star is absolutely brilliant.

The game’s art style and ‘story’ are based on an apparently rather good set of graphic novels, although this is as much information you’ll get from me on the matter of plot as by all accounts it’s entirely superfluous; this is a game about shooting stuff and fighting, end of. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with that whatsoever, in fact it helps keep the title focused, levels interspersed merely by a shop screen in which to spend your hard earned points on powering up your character before crashing back into the fray with a vengeance. Split neatly into two aspects, the game jumps between fighting off waves of enemies with a deliciously simple but adequately varied combo system, and frantic bullet-dodging boss fights with traditional attack patterns and weak spots. The manner in which the two have been executed and blended however is flawless, the camera angle shifting seamlessly throughout each stage to give every section a unique feel; be it Streets of Rage, Gauntlet, Asteroids, Ikaruga, or Smash TV to name but a few. Personally I’ve never been a fan of bullet dodging shoot-em-ups, but the use of one control system for these two remarkably different styles of play keeps the game feeling fresh, and when later stages of the game require fighting finesse juxtaposed seamlessly with bullet ballet, you feel like you’re on FIRE. The fighting sections in particular, whilst easier to master, are also more essential; the game’s a little tight when it comes to giving you health at times, and that means in the later stages of the game combo perfection becomes a prerequisite, ensuring you lose as little health as possible to improve the odds of beating that seemingly impossible boss. Health is something you’ll have to guard almost religiously too as you’ve got no extra lives to rely on, only the occasional medi-pack to top you up a bit; items which the game hands out in an increasingly frugal manner as you progress through the stages.

It’s this drive for perfection that makes replaying the same levels over and over seem constantly new, performing well on a stage is rewarded by huge amounts of points to spend on upgrades, which are absolutely essential if you want to be able to finish the game - personally I restarted the game twice to play through getting more S ranks, as you’re unable to replay earlier levels to gain more points if you get stuck later on. It’s a harsh mechanic admittedly, and few games can pull it off - but The Red Star manages it beautifully - I’ve already played through the game three times and it still never ceases to be anything less than amazing fun. The characters to choose from are varied, and the choices of weapons for them are also suitably varied; three different guns being unlockable for each. The boss design is some of the best I’ve seen in years, despite lacking any conventional sense of character and being largely mechanical cannons of some description they’re still memorable as hell, each requiring attack pattern memorization or trance-like focus.

The extra content isn’t anything spectacular, Arena mode offering some extra Smash TV-themed overhead blasting action, requiring you to survive an onslaught of more enemies than you can shake a stick at; whilst lacking the variation of the main game the sheer number of enemies it throws at you makes it a suitably frantic challenge, with cheats and extra modes unlockable for those able to persevere and gain an A rank or above.

The Red Star is a three year old game, but still shines ever so brightly despite this - quite frankly I just couldn’t put it down, even after dying on the same boss for the sixth time and storming off for a cup of tea I found it impossible to not go back for just one more go. There’s only one criticism I can make of The Red Star - sometimes the difficulty can be particularly evil, and the realisation that the only way you’re ever going to be able to beat the level you’re stuck on is by starting a new file over entirely is something that might be a real turn off for some. Although personally I found storming through the game again, replacing my early fumbles with S ranks an absolute joy, I’m aware that when breaking it to your co-op partner that it might be an idea to play through the first 14 levels again, they might have a tendency to look at you as if you’ve just pissed on their grandmother. Still, let them play through a few missions alone to get a feel for the game and you’ll soon be locked and loaded for a few days of techno-communist-button-bashing madness.

Sure, there’ll be a lot of people who’ll take one look at this game and write it off as derivative, repetitive, and plain; but they’re idiots. The Red Star is a perfect example about what games should be about: It’s a title that does nothing revolutionary, but the mechanics are so beautifully polished that you’ll be having far too much fun to really give a damn about innovation. Oh, and it’s a budget release title, which means you can pick up a brand-spanking-new copy for fifteen quid, which means you’ve got no excuse. For what it is, what it does, and what it costs - The Red Star is mere inches off perfection.

Dust off your PS2 and hire a friend, you'll be pushed to have more fun with £15.


Graphics 7
Gameplay 10
Sound 7
Lifespan 8

Overall 9.6

Review: Puzzle Quest - Challenge of the Warlords

Something for the weekend?

Puzzle games have taken off hugely on the DS, the touch screen pumping blood into the veins of grid based puzzles and resulting in more choices than you could possibly hope to shake a stick at when it comes to choosing one to pick up. One of the earliest titles to for the DS that took advantage of this new style was the charming gem Zoo Keeper, a frantic matching game that relied on concentration, speed, and most importantly a sharp pair of eyes. Puzzle Quest at a first glance appears to be a similar title, using the touchscreen to match up lines of three or more gems to defeat the various minions you come across in your adventures. The similarities are however only skin deep; rather than being a solo experience the game is turn based, quickly forcing you to take your time and choose the best move possible before you relinquish control to the devastatingly ‘lucky’ AI player.

Now I say ‘lucky’, because now I’ve gotten to a stage where I’m able to pull off considerably impressive moves myself, but until reaching that stage of competence it seemed much more appropriate to describe it as ‘Cheating’. And this is where the beauty of Puzzle Quest begins to shine, the RPG elements thrown in mean that for the first hour or two at least- it’s OK to lose. You’ll still get some gold, and you’ll still get some experience points which means, as with many MMORPGs, it’s impossible to play for an hour and fail to achieve anything - playing well will merit you with more, but nonetheless even when facing a particularly nasty beast you’ll never come close to wanting to bash your head against the wall - which is nice.

Instead you’ll be slowly building up your funds, cackling maniacally to yourself as you hatch plans to lay siege to your homeland, research new spells from captured monsters, train your mounts to assist you more effectively in battle, and craft magical items with rune stones found around the world. All sounds fairly exciting eh? Well considering all of the aforementioned activities are completed using simple variations of the game’s classic puzzle system, surprisingly all of these activities are very exciting; the early stages of the game are a glorious grind-fest, travelling about collecting bits and bobs and fighting beasties to turn the tides of battle around in your favour, the scope of potential activities giving you seemingly endless streams of things to do and keeping you locked in that ‘just one more go…’ mindset.

The actual style of Puzzle Quest isn’t half bad either, some of the art is patchy but mostly it’s fairly pretty, and the dialogue sections whilst not being epic aren’t badly written and occasionally made me chuckle; and perhaps more importantly they rarely made me cringe. Also noteworthy is the sense of moral ambiguity instilled into the game, quests often giving you a choice of outcomes that seem to avoid the black and white categorizations of good and evil pretty damn well, evading the common mistake of ending up with a game full of faux-morality choices that force you to lean towards being good in order to progress through the game in the ‘right’ way.

It’s at about 6 to 10 hours into the game that you’ll hit Puzzle Quest’s sweet spot, having carefully selected some premium gear and magical techniques the game becomes much more controlled, allowing players to hatch devious plans and strategies for launching all out assaults on your opponents. This initial sensation of realising that after hours of blood and sweat the tables have finally turned is a fantastic rush, but after this things sadly begin to slip downhill rather quickly.

In all of it’s scope, Puzzle Quest has neglected to add a strong enough sense of balance to the game; despite struggling to win regularly for a long period of time, after a while I was able to devise a variety of strategies that essentially rendered me unbeatable by most opponents, and it was a few hours after I reached this point that I lost interest in the game entirely due to this rather major design flaw. This laziness is also evident on the DS version’s graphical presentation, sporadic glitches and large obtrusive on-screen messages often making playing the game much more difficult, something which feels particularly broken when attempting to play puzzles involving time limits; the game stealing seconds away from you whilst it essentially rewards you for playing well by temporarily blocking your view of the screen.

Despite the game being to an extent pretty broken, this is almost entirely forgiveable for two reasons: Number one; Puzzle Quest has tried something genuinely new, fusing two game elements together in a manner that whilst not perfect does a damn fine job for a first try. Most importantly however is number two; Puzzle Quest is the most insanely addictive handheld game I’ve played since Advance Wars on the GBA. It’s not perfect, sure. It’s not even close to perfect, and after a good 16 hours of playing you’ll probably get pretty bored and move onto something else. But those hours while they last will be the most fun you’ll have had in a long time, trust me.

There’s nothing more admirable than a game that’s well polished and carefully designed, but by the same account there’s nothing more amazing than a game that’s enthralling to play despite being pretty broken. If you have a DS and haven’t played Puzzle Quest, go and buy it. It’s cheap as chips, and it’s an absolute blast.

Stat-grinding-puzzle-crackin’-smacktastic goodness.

Graphics 6
Gameplay 9
Sound 5
Lifespan 7

Overall 8

Review: Mr. Robot

Fire in the Wire or Chips in a Box?

Straight off the bat, I’m happy to say that Moonpod are a company who know what they’re doing. The world of independent games is a harsh one, and Moonpod have decided that it’s best to keep things simple, an idea embodied in their slogan: “No gimmicks- just gameplay”. As far as Mr. Robot’s concerned, I’m happy to say that they’ve done their philosophy proud on all accounts. The stage is set on the Eidolon, a spaceship sent to prepare a habitable planet for the human race. Taking on the role of Asimov, a charming little robot who’s keeping things on the ship ticking over under the command of ‘HEL 9000’, the supervisory A.I. system left in charge of the ship whilst the crew are kicking back and having a bit of a cryogenically enhanced nap… But things are not as peaceful as they appear on the ship, and before too long Asimov (or Jed, as I named him) and company are going rogue, trying to unravel the mysterious problems that are suddenly plaguing the Eidolon on its long range mission.

Moonpod seem to focus on sci-fi themed games, and after playing Mr. Robot I can see why; these guys really know their stuff when it comes to the genre - packed with wonderfully subtle references to all sorts of seminal films and games, whilst Mr. Robot’s story admittedly seems a little rehashed together from old ideas it’s executed in a way that’s charming, thought provoking, and sometimes even sinister. Amazingly when playing I was often reminded a little of Deus Ex or System Shock 2, these games coming to mind despite my avatar basically just being a cute little robot that likes hopping about over boxes left me very impressed at the amount of atmosphere they’d managed to cram into what could have so easily been a really lifeless game. But luckily for us, it’s definitely not a dull game, although admittedly I spent the first few hours playing it absolutely puzzled by why I was enjoying it so much…

The game mechanics are very simple, and split roughly 50/50 into two distinct types of game; block puzzles and traditional turn based RPG battles. And that’s it ladies and gents, the entirety of Mr. Robot involved nothing more than moving boxes about to get through rooms, and levelling up your ‘ghosts’ as you hack your way through mainframes, security locks, and sentry robots. But in an age of next-gen HD tomfoolery is that going to be enough to keep you entertained? Yes. Because in forgetting about polygon counts, fancy physics, A.I., and bloom they’ve made sure to put heavy focus on the aspects that make games fun, something that more overambitious, highly funded projects often neglect to concentrate on.

The puzzler sections have a delightfully classic feel to them, and after early difficulties in getting my head wired up into the block moving ‘zone’ the satisfaction of making it past a tricky section and to the next checkpoint is glorious, repeatedly failing never stunting progress too much thanks to the ability to reset the block positions of a room with the press of a button. Later on when less friendly robots are thrown into the mix, things start to get a bit more interesting however; some of the sections that involve manipulating the way points of enemies through clever positioning of boxes feel like a welcome throwback to games like ‘The Incredible Machine’, forcing you to carefully plan ahead in a room to ensure success. While sometimes the enemies can help you out a little in terms of hitting switches to open doors, sometimes they just get in the way a little and make things a little bit too hectic, and this is where hacking plays a valuable part in the game’s mechanics: whilst most of the RPG hacking sections are compulsory for progressing through the game, you also have the option to destroy enemies by hopping onto their heads and hacking them from above (It’s not always as easy as I just made it sound, mind you…). It takes a bit of time to complete a mainframe with your ‘ghost’ team and the experience rewards you’re given for defeating them in this manner is pretty minimal, but it allows you to make a choice sometimes; do I struggle through this tricky room attempting to evade enemies, or do you put your feet up and take out all the enemies through the hacking console to make completing the puzzle a breeze?

It’s this variation that keeps things feeling fresh when playing Mr. Robot, when dipping in to play you can alternate between dexterous platform hopping and mindless level grinding almost at will, the RPG sections whilst giving you a decent amount of customization and special moves also give you the luxury of being able to plough through most fights just by holding down a button to give orders with one hand whilst you give yourself a healthy pat on the back with the other. These RPG battles aren’t the most varied you’ll ever see in terms of enemies and environments, but the vibrant Tron-esque appearance gives it a strong sense of style to soak up as you watch your wonderfully animated ethereal robot team slash their way through a mainframe. The graphical style of the main section of the game is equally lovely, using simple models and textures painted with rich, brightly coloured lighting effects which whilst simple captures that ‘I’m a little robot chillin’ out on a spaceship’ vibe perfectly.

Just to nail it in again, the sci-fi atmosphere in Mr. Robot is fantastic. But not only that, they’ve also managed to make all of the characters within the game extremely charming, funny, and memorable, making the game feel like a cross between Asimov’s book I Robot, and the classic movie Silent Running, with a pinch of Pixar thrown in for good measure. Factor in the addition of achievements to unlock, an online leaderboard, and an editor to make your own content to share with friends and you’ve got a nice little package. For the asking price of about £15 you’re looking at a beefy little title that knows and honours its roots in terms of both films and games, and provides a sharp, cohesive, and focussed game experience that’s rarely seen in mainstream games.

Simple, addictive, absorbing, and charming; what Mr. Robot lacks in scope it compensates for with polish. Clearly a lot of love has been put into this game, and not in vain; Mr. Robot is an absolute gem.

The best independent game since Naked War.

Graphics: 7
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 9
Lifespan: 7

Overall: 9

Review: Medal Of Honour: Vanguard

More Money Than Sense?

We Need YOU!

Medal of Honour games have taken a real fall from grace since their initial glory with the first title in the series which by all accounts was probably one of the finest World War shooters of its time, but strangely the decrease in quality seen in many of the abysmal offerings churned out for the PS2 is one that hasn’t been backed up by the sales figures… Admittedly it pains me to say it, but although I’d happily bet all I own that this game will be met by a ambivalence at best by anyone who’s played a first-person shooter in the past 5 years, I’d also put the same bet down that thousands of people will already have bought it, completed it, and be debating how well it stands in comparison to the seminal classic MoH: Rising Sun with their stupid friends. Now chances are by now there’ll be a few people thinking: “Crikey, that’s a bit harsh…” – but is it? Now let’s get things straight here as I put my cards on the table; this isn’t intended as some sort of jab at EA’s reputation for cashing in on franchises, indeed from a personal perspective I think EA in general have really been shaping up over the past few years and becoming a highly respectable company in terms of quality and polish. But with Medal of Honour- I’ve got some serious beef.

Alright, earlier I used a bad word and I’m sorry about that, but now I’m going to justify it; the success of Medal of Honour games over the past 5 years is the result of a simple cocktail, you too can enjoy this simple recipe: 2 parts ignorance, 2 parts marketing, shake vigorously and carefully sift off any discernible sense of taste, serve. Again, harsh? Not at all - I can happily say that anyone who finds this game to be well made or enjoyable simply hasn’t played or heard of Battlefield 1942, Call of Duty, or any other historical shooters for that matter, because when you boil down to it Vanguard is a game that seems like an epic step backwards, compare it to almost any major title in the same vein released in the past few years and it’s going to be the one that no-one wants to talk to and gets chosen last for the team, while all the kids point and laugh. Of course unlike its playground counterpart, bullying a computer game is fine, because it really is their fault that it’s so damn ugly. And let me assure you, they know it’s ugly - like Quasimodo dragging a lady back to his flat for a nightcap they’ve been very cautious to keep the lights dimmed so you don’t power up your PS2 and realize you’ve just gone home with an absolute munter. The game is dark, ashamed of its second-rate textures and jagged edges; navigating your way through the levels is like walking through muddy soup, interspersed with identical buildings to work your way through as your hamfisted squadron do everything they can to be a complete pain in the neck.

This is the most unforgivable thing about Vanguard: the idiotic team of men who bumble around making your life difficult at every opportunity, who within minutes of playing I was trying to assassinate just so I could get on with the game in peace. But of course, your bullets can’t hurt them- which would usually be a godsend, but considering they seem unable to actually hit any enemies with their gunfire and seem intent on hogging ALL of the cover the game expects you to use, they’re nothing less than a nightmare; rather than focusing on taking out the enemies up ahead I spent most of my time trying to find a spot to shoot from that wasn’t about to be taken by one of my team. I’m sure when they planned the movement patterns of the troops it looked lovely on paper, but after you settle yourself in a good sniping position only to find an AI soldier running over and taking a spot you already had covered it’s just f***ing irritating.

As I said it’s a very dark game, and unfortunately this just puts a spotlight on some of the horrendous lighting problems within the game. None of the environments feel real due to simple mistakes like inconsistent sunlight or machine gun flares that often produce perfect squares of light on walls nearby, explosions and gunfire often visible through walls - a regular glitch which they obviously assumed wouldn’t be too much of an issue. Of course as with other MoH games you can switch between standing, kneeling and crawling, the last of which you’ll rarely see the point in; crawling through tall grass does nothing more than offend your eyes with pixelated monstrosities while the enemy continue to shoot at you flawlessly which makes it seem pretty damn superfluous to say the very least. Even when you get to the stage where any FPS should start being fun, the game practically becomes a parody, having you gun down lines of respawning enemies with mounted machine guns that feels like the Rambo scene out of Hot Shots part Deux, other sections involving rocket launchers to destroy tanks feel like fairground game, always keeping you very conscious that the area with tanks in that you’re firing towards isn’t actually a cohesive part of the game, but a WWII themed shooting gallery. To be honest I wouldn’t have put it past them to include a hook-a-duck section…

There’s too many gripes to list really, other notable problems being laziness with texture clipping which results in you wasting bullets attempting to fire past objects only to find the transparent section a foot beneath the lamp graphic is actually still classed as being a solid object, laughably lacklustre explosions and lifeless AI to name but a few. Essentially it’s just no fun to play, and nothing about this game ever peaks above being average - something which is unacceptable considering the calibre of some of the other titles currently on the market.

In summary, this is all you really need to know about Vanguard: It’s awful.
It’s a tired formula badly executed that lacks everything needed to make a good WWII shooter; You’ll hate your comrades, you’ll laugh at the lazy graphics, and all the way through you’ll be too absorbed by the inconsistencies dotted throughout to ever get drawn into the game, leaving it a lifeless and dull experience. There are better games available to spend your hard earned cash on, and there are better alternatives for getting your WWII fix - or in other words; if you buy this game you’re a bit stupid, but if you enjoy it then it’s about time you learned a thing or two about games.

Somebody keeps buying them. WHY DO THEY KEEP BUYING THEM?

Graphics - 4
Gameplay - 5
Sound - 6
Lifespan – 4
Overall – 5

Boom Boom Rocket Interview

Getting the lowdown on EA's first XBLA title.

At a press event in north London on the 5th of April, EA unveiled their first ever Xbox Live Arcade title, the rhythm action game Boom Boom Rocket, made by Bizarre Creations, creators of the award winning Project Gotham Racing series and the simple yet frighteningly enthralling Geometry Wars.

Boom Boom Rocket revolves around triggering off fireworks as the camera pans around moonlit 3D cityscapes to the beat of ten classical music tracks remixed by the composer Ian Livingstone. The game which has been worked on by the Pogo team who’ve had great recent successes in the casual game market aims to appeal to a range of skill levels, difficulties ranging between a comfortable pace for the less capable player to a frenzied rush for those looking for a more intense challenge. Visually the title is fairly spectacular, Steve Cakebread who worked on Geometry Wars was brought in to ensure the final product would have the same psychedelic palette and style as the aforementioned XBLA title, again focussing on maxing out the 360’s power without attempting to reproduce reality in games; the combo fuelled powerup is a showcase of this, rewarding players’ skill with not only extra points but also an intense pulsating showcase of graphical prowess.

Having had the chance to play the game I can happily say it’s an enjoyable little title- unrestricted by the specific genre focus of games like Guitar Hero it’s accessible, simple to play and my main thought when playing the game was that they’d hit the nail on the head with the rhythm mechanics. Offering depth and difficulty for the masochistic number grinding gamer and a selection of pretty colours and loud music for those like myself who rather enjoy an inebriated turn taking session with friends after a night out on the lash, it’s looking to be a gem of a title all round.

The game will be available for purchase on XBLA around mid April, retailing at 800 points the game features simultaneous two player on the same screen, Xbox live high scores, Endurance and Practice modes, as well as a visualization option which will shower you with an array of pretty explosions in time to music from your own collection. The final part of the package is the child/drunk friendly Freestyle mode which allows you to set off fireworks without having to actually worry about the timing of when you pull off your spectacular moves in relation to the music, rather like dancing in a darkened corner of a nightclub.

During the event I managed to grab hold of Boom Boom Rocket project leaders Sam Hall and Nick Bygrave for a few minutes to have an informal interview discussing their thoughts on the soon to be released title, the motivations and influences behind the final build of the game and a little discussion about the rise of the increasingly popular rhythm genre…

Thanks for the interview guys! I’ll dive straight in here; let’s talk about the music…

Q: What about the choice of using remixed classical music in the game, was that a conscious choice for the game’s direction or was it just a realistic route for making the production more affordable by avoiding licensing fees?

Obviously that is a factor, and avoiding the license fees helped- but working with original music and working with a composer allowed us to make sure that music and levels worked really well together, and we wouldn’t have had that flexibility with licensed music.

Q: Are you looking into the possibility of extra music packs for Boom Boom Rocket to download over XBLA?

It’s something we’ve considered certainly, there’s nothing set out yet but we’ll see what feedback we get from the game- it’s definitely a distinct possibility.

Q: What about the choice of Ian Livingstone for the game’s music?

We’ve worked with Ian before on the Gotham Racing 2 theme music so we knew he was a good composer; he looked at the game and the track he sent us just instantly worked, so we had him work with us again for Boom Boom Rocket. It’s been a very closely linked process, the levels and the music being developed simultaneously, allowing a much tighter rhythm game experience than we would have been able to make using licensed music.

Q: Playing it reminded me rather of the dancing minigame in Rayman: Raving Rabbids on the Wii due to the fact that rather than just hitting buttons to the beat, in Boom Boom Rocket the timing focuses on different aspects of the music and it seems to fit really well, did getting away from bassline-focus that electronic music rhythm games have help make the style of the game more varied?

Yeah, we could apply lots of different styles of music to the game and really play around with it a bit more- obviously the aim was to use music that would be familiar to as many people as possible, certainly that was where the choice of classical music came in: people would recognise the songs from adverts and TV programs, and remixing them in styles that people would recognize as sounding like specific bands or artists seemed to give us a good coverage that people will be able to relate to and enjoy.

Q: In terms of the visual presentation of the game at least it does remind me an awful lot of the early PS2 title Fantavision, have you used many of the aspects of that game in Boom Boom Rocket?

We’ve never actually played Fantavision actually- we were worried early on that people were just going to make this comparison, and that it might be a thorn in our side. The visual similarities are there of course, you’ve got the fireworks and the cityscape backdrops, but the gameplay is very different- Fantavision was more of a puzzler where as this is pure rhythm action, and hopefully when people play the game they’ll see past the aesthetic comparisons and realise that in terms of gameplay it probably has more in common with something like Guitar Hero.

Q: Well admittedly I’d have to agree with you there- the most striking aspect of the game I found when I was playing it was that I seemed pretty incapable of playing it without being able to hear the music, and that’s something that all music based games should really strive to achieve isn’t it?

Well when we were doing the early testing we’d sat people down with the game and seen that they were trying to concentrate on hitting the buttons as the fireworks crossed over the line, which is of course what you’re supposed to do, but after telling them not to concentrate so much on the visuals and just keep in time with the music something and then suddenly something just clicked. Amazingly there’s a video on Youtube of our EA producer Joe playing an entire level on hard blindfolded and still getting an A* rank, it’s something we didn’t really know about until we saw it later, but after seeing that obviously we became much more confident that we were on the right track with making the game musically focused.

Q: I mean I’m not particularly into my rhythm games, but in within about thirty seconds of playing I really started to get the urge to start moving my feet about, the only other game that’s made me feel like that recently is probably again: Guitar Hero, have you found similar responses when playtesting?

Hahah, yeah- when we were showing you all a demo of the game earlier I felt a bit conscious of the fact I was playing it infront of a room full of people; I HAD to bob my head a bit, just to help keep the groove…

Q: Going back the music in the game, given the choice personally is there any particular genre of music that you’d really like to integrate into Boom Boom Rocket?

That’s a good question… Personally I like dance and house music, but that’s pretty much catered for in the game already- When we started work on the game we were using mainly pop music, it kind of worked ok, but it didn’t quite feel right. We haven’t really had to predict what music would work in the game, and that’s been interesting- it’s all been pretty trial and error in terms of getting music to fit the game, trying out new songs and styles and getting feedback until we had something that seemed to work. Having direct access to the composer made a huge difference, it meant we were able to make changes to the music to fit with the game rather than vice versa. I don’t think any one kind of music works better than any other, it’ll be interesting to see what other styles we end up using if we carry on in the same direction we’ve been going in the production process we’ve used so far; with gameplay and music being developed in tandem it opens us up to a lot of exciting possibilities for the future.

Q: Certainly in the brief time playing Boom Boom Rocket despite the totally different visual stylings it reminded me a little of the PS2 music game Rez in terms of the almost hypnotic nature of the game- is this a game you’d relate to more than Fantavision for describing your influences?

Absolutely, we love Rez. We work as a part of the audio team for Bizarre, there’s been about nine of us in total all playing a part in the process of making the game, all of us from a musical background which of course has added a lot to the game- it’s a very different from Rez, but we think it’s different in a good way.

Q: Yeah, it’s definitely much more simplified, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing- aesthetically it’s basically just a 2D game with pretty graphical effects, but with sound based games it’s often best sometimes to keep it simple visually.

I think again that was definitely an intention, I mean at times during production the game did start to become more complicated and we had to keep reining it back in to keep the core gameplay simple and get it right rather than throwing in loads of extra stuff that didn’t quite feel right.

Q: On a personal level, what would you guys like to do next? Would you be interested in any point at going back to something in the style of Fur Fighters and perhaps making a similarly styled third person shooter for XBLA, or do you think that area’s been covered strongly enough by full price titles currently in the market?

We’d certainly not like to rule anything out for the future, and if we had an idea for something similar that we imagined could be good fun then I’m sure it’s certainly something that Bizarre would investigate. From the team’s point of view we’re all working on titles to be published this year that’ll be keeping us busy for the next few months, but beyond that we’d certainly like to start work on something else and I’m sure the company would like to keep up the momentum we’ve got at the moment with our current team; it’s been really enjoyable.

Q: Again, with the XBLA limit recently bumped up to a fairly generous 250mb it’s opened up a lot of possibilities- Again on a personal level, in an ideal world where you could make any title you’d like to for XBLA, what sort of game would you love to make?

Hahah, well obviously most of our lunchtime sessions are spent discussing that question, but it’s more often than not just ideas being thrown around that are concept over substance. Personally I’d like to make something a little more abstract in the vein of Rez, but there’s no plans in the pipeline for anything like that- we all love that kind of game, but it’s a bit too niche.

Q. That’s understandable, but at the same time it seems music based titles are definitely on the rise: Dance Dance Revolution is recognized the world over and it seems Guitar Hero is quickly heading that way- also titles on the way such as Boogie for Wii and the recently announced Rock Band look to suggest that music games are starting to move more into the limelight of the games world. Obviously the focus of these games musically has often been commercial dance and pop and more recently rock music, but do you think the rise in popularity of the genre could open up a gap in the market for the more niche electronic music based titles? would you be interested in moving on with what you’ve learnt and achieved with Boom Boom Rocket onto something a little more abstract?

Well obviously we can’t speak for the company, but that appeals to very highly, yes. We come from a background of making music, so any game that can achieve a sense of you being involved in making music whilst playing would be an amazing achievement. It seems like there are a lot of generic games in the genre, and as it’s such a wide new market there’s a lot of exciting uncharted territory to explore. Going back to Guitar Hero- It’s great because it’s brought the rhythm game back into the mainstream, taking away the image of your little sister playing Britney’s dance beat and making enjoying rhythm games something that gamers no longer feel they should be ashamed of.

Thanks again to Sam Hall and Nick Bygrave from Bizarre Creations for their time, I shall be looking forward to getting my teeth into some more Boom Boom Rocket mid-April!