The Lair of the Monkey

The rule must go something like “if this is a new Japanese fighting game, then we really must include bizzare hairstyles that are customisable, so players can make their avatars look even weirder”.  I definitely don’t get it.  Maybe it’s for the best, as it makes no sense whatsoever, especially in a fighting game.

As you all know though, I’m a huge fan of Tekken - any Tekken.  Ergo, I’m rather liking the look of the new Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion (not sure if I’ve put the colon in the right place there).  If you want to know more, go to the official Tekken 6 site.

If you like comedy takes on video games, then look no further than this edition of Stolen Pixels.  It pokes fun at the ‘Perk’ system featured in Fallout 3.  The ‘less crashes’ perk certainly gets my vote, as I’m still having problems with the game.  Most recently, Dad and Prof Li turned blue, apart from their heads, which turned a decidedly zombie-ish green.  Horrifying.  Simply horrifying.

Yes, this is a UK based gaming blog, which means you’re probably as upset as I am that the US has had this game for some time and we can now expect it start of February 2009.  Why the delay for the latest Silent Hill offering?  Frankly, I have no idea.  It can’t be to make the game better.  It also makes little sense to release it after the Christmas sales rush.  Oh well.  Woe are we, the European Gamers.

Kotaku has a brilliant excerpt from another article about Half-Life 2.

The crux of it is that Gordon Freeman remains silent in order for us to be more immersed in the game and experience it on a whole new level.

Do you believe this?  Here’s my response:

Obviously this post is a little late - but then this is being uploaded on All Hallows’ Day so it’s not that far off.  With that in mind, before I go and cook something like pumpkin pie, let’s see what you could (or should) have been playing on the ’scariest game of the year’:

• Forbidden Siren (pictured)
• Silent Hill (just about any of them)
• Resident Evil 4 (it does have some spooky moments, especially at the start)
• Clock Tower
• Condemned

There are other horror games out there that are more than worth a look - and Dead Space is a brilliant game with a fantastically scary sci-fi horror edge.  I’d go so far as to say it does for games what Alien did for sci-fi.  More info as I get to grips with it.  I’m off to go and make that pumpkin pie and find more horror films to watch as Resident Evil 4 isn’t as scary with an AK-47 with infinite bullets…

Yes, that’s Tanooki Mario.  Perhaps we should just take this back to the idea that this is, in fact, Mario.  See the title above?  Gaming has changed so much compared to the ‘good old days’ and it’s this gaming blogger’s take that the good old days weren’t in fact that good - if that’s what we had to interact with.  So, this is why gaming is better:

1. These days, gaming is much more sophisticated
2. This graphical representation, this avatar, isn’t self-depreciating or self-referencing - it’s merely silly
3. Gaming isn’t just about a quick moment of fun any more, it’s moved into the realm of art.  So much so, that we now have games like Silent Hill, Shadow of the Colossus and Brothers In Arms
4. If gaming never tried to reach out and be more than this, we’d have very little today
5. Would you play games if you were controlling him?  I doubt it, you’ve been fed way too much GTA

Ultimately, gaming has moved on an incredible amount since these early beginnings, which really makes me wonder why Nintendo hasn’t followed suit.  Instead, it has found a formula that has worked - in the form of the Wii and DS.  However, that means it has left many of us behind.  Nintendo, I salute you - but as long as you insist on using these caricatures then I’m afraid I won’t be having fun with your franchises in the future.  Let’s let Mario et al go to pasture for a while eh?

The long awaited sequel to the popular first-person shooter Far Cry is now available from all good games stores.

More than just a visual and technological achievement, Far Cry 2 immerses players in an entirely new kind of gaming experience, featuring a custom-made video game engine built from the ground up. Players will discover a true open world gameplay set in one of the most beautiful environments in the world, Africa, brought to life by high-definition next-gen technology.  Once again, you have superior, free roaming first person gameplay elements with a ton of cool weapons and vehicles to play with.
Make sure to look out for it - PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.  Full review coming soon.

In what could be one of the most long-awaited titles (simply because there are a ton of fans out there who can’t wait to get their hands on the game) of this year for Xbox360, Alan Wake now has a new video - visit Kotaku to see it.

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but sources now suggest this third person action/scare title is due now for 01/05/09 - so we’ve got a while longer to go yet…

It’s a debate that still rages - should you be ashamed of the hobby that you’ve harboured since - well, a long time now… Or should other people be educated in the fact that games are actually mature?

Games Radar has an absolutely fantastic take on this whole idea - completely subverting what others may consider mature and how the themes of games actually deal with the ‘real’ adult issues that other media such as books and films tackle.  Unfortunately, it’s this sort of coverage that is rarely offered in the press.

Expect some coverage of Fallout 3 by Bethesda Softworks (PC and maybe Xbox 360) near time of release, as I’ve had it confirmed that a review copy is coming my way.  In the meantime, enjoy these pictures whilst I go back to reminiscing about how I never managed to save the Vault in the first game (just how the hell did you get that water there anyway?!).

You’ll be wanting one of those mean power suits in the game - I’m convinced of it.

Real locations appear in the game and how amazing does that look!

Overall, this could well be one of the games of this year, if not THE game.  Come back again nearer time of release for my opinion on the game.