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What Sony Needs To Do Differently

Z1GTeam Editorials

Sony has recently focused it’s efforts on a new model of the PlayStation 3 console, and to an improved online store with more features promised for the paying “PlayStation Plus” members, including more free games and content, and more reductions over both the PlayStation 3 console, and also the handheld PSVita.

The trouble is, Sony are currently experiencing a spot of financial hardship, and I don’t necessarily thing that they have chosen the best methods to deal with this. Here is what I would have done differently:

1) No new PS3

There was no real need for a newer, slimmer console. Both the PS1 and the PS2 only had 2 model versions, and the PSP got less successful as it got smaller and more model types (anyone remember the PSPGo?). Nintendo can carry off releasing new versions of the DS every 6 months, with a camera, 3D or making it larger, and Nintendo fanboys (and girls) will happily pay for the privilege. Sony’s fans are not quite so loyal, and we could have all waited with our Slim or Phat current consoles until the YLOD hit us, or the PlayStation 4 emerged.

2) Bring in Cross-Platform-Play

There has been little movement on the PSVita front really. The games aren’t spectacular, aside from a few early launch titles and the addition of Little Big Planet, and now that we have PSP games and PS1 games finally approved for use on the console, it seems that all I use my PSVita for is exactly what I ended up using my PSP for – retro gaming.

The PSVita is a powerful piece of kit. It has touch screens for intricate puzzle solving/surgery/crime fighting, and dual analogues for some pretty decent shooting action. All it is missing is the interaction with the PS3, and with Microsoft bringing in SmartGlass and Nintendo’s very own Wii-U leading the way, Sony had better pull it’s finger out if it doesn’t want to miss the bus! Initially, using the PSVita as an extra control pad would be pretty awesome, but eventually being able to play on the awesome touchscreen so that the TV could be used for other things, or carrying games on when you head out for work. I’d even encourage people to develop mini games for the PSVita, akin to the chocobo side game for Final Fantasy VIII, so that we could level up characters or acquire new items for use in the game, without actually playing the main game.

The PSVita has a lot of untapped potential. Sony focused pretty hard on making the console an impressive piece of kit (aside from the camera) but haven’t really developed it’s interactivity with other Sony devices, and that’s a shame.

 

3) Work harder with Bethesda

We all know Bethesda games are not the greatest supporters of PS3 gamers, judging by their appalling treatment of Skyrim fans anyway, but it seems to be due to their focus on developing for the Xbox 360 first, and then trying to cram it onto the PS3 hardware as an afterthought. Developers like Bethesda seem a little unwilling to sort the problem, and while it is not Sony’s fault that the glitches have occurred, it would certainly be in Sony’s interest to help smooth the relationship between the company and gamers, although given the latest news regarding Doom 3 BFG Edition (you CANNOT install the game on Xbox 360, without losing the option to play 2 other games on the disk completely), Bethesda seem quite content in annoying all of their future purchasers.

4) Bring out the PS4

I know the gaming market probably isn’t ready for it yet, and most gamers aren’t even close to being financially ready for it, but we need a new serious console. After seeing the buzz around the Wii-U at the Eurogamer Expo, everyone was keen to get their hands on it, even if the software provided wasn’t quite living up to expectations. We all crave new things, and perhaps the PS4 will allow a bit more interactivity with the PSVita (yes I have a bee in my bonnet about it), and also a slew of new games in an otherwise stagnant marketplace.

These are just my opinions on matters, and they may not be right or even financially viable for Sony. But in these times of recessions and global economic downturns, isn’t it time Sony came out fighting?

Merlin: The Game

Tim Bowers PC, Reviews, TimB

Social Games and Licensed Games. Two types of game that when uttered can strike fear into the hearts of most gamers. One is a new type of game that appeals to the mass market and the other usually means the ruining of a much beloved franchise or series in a rush to cash in. So when I heard that there was going to a Facebook game for the BBC’s much loved series ‘Merlin’ I wasn’t exactly expecting much.

Thankfully then the team at Bossa Studios appear to have exceeded my expectations and raised the bar on what makes a good Facebook game.

Merlin: The Game, as you would expect, takes place in the land of Camelot. If you’ve seen the TV show then you’ll know all about it, but if you haven’t don’t worry, just imagine the King Arthur/Merlin legends but in a more ‘Saved by the Bell’ style age.

The game starts with your character being attacked by some Giant Spiders; you beat a few of them off but then are overwhelmed when a new enemy surrounds you. Just when all hope is lost, Merlin appears, HURRAH, and saves you using his own special talents. Merlin then guides you through the forest until you reach the safety of the Camelot Citadel, once there he asks you to keep the whole magic thing a secret and offers to help you make your way in life.

Welcome to the Camelot Citadel, the Citadel will act as your central hub during the game. Here you will be able to obtain quests, buy weapons and armour and collect rations and provisions. Here you’ll also come into contact with the more famous residents of Camelot; Arthur, Gwen and Gaius and of course Merlin, will all make an appearance and offer you quests to complete. As you play through the game you’ll encounter places that have appeared in the TV series and other characters will make appearances, firmly rooting the game in the TV series.

So then, what’s the game like? Well firstly Bossa Studios are part of the same group as the company that makes the TV show so they have been able to draw on that when building the game. As such the game looks amazing. The art style is beautifully drawn and rendered. The slightly comic book caricatures of the cast (try saying that three times when you’ve been down the Tavern!), while probably not doing too much for the actor’s egos are perfectly suited to the environment and the style of the game.

Game play takes place in a 3D isometric view. Your characters is moved using clicks of the mouse and items can be assigned to specific buttons on the keyboard or used by clicking the icon with the mouse. Basically if you’ve ever played a PC RPG Dungeon Crawler game before then you’ll know what you’re doing with Merlin. Don’t worry though if you’ve never even held a mouse before or know what an RPG is, Merlin is all about ease of use.

As Merlin: The Game is a Facebook game there is also the social aspect of the game. You are more than able to play through the game as a solitary explorer, but if you are stuck and need help, or even if you want to get other people involved, all you need to do is click and invite. Over the past few years Facebook has become littered with ‘Game Requests’, ‘So and So wants you to send them a banana, or wants you to visit their café, or wants you to get on their train.’ Etc etc. Merlin isn’t like that.

When you invite someone they will receive the message that you are asking them to join your game to help out, if they agree they will click on the link and immediately appear in YOUR game, not their own, not in a field ‘next’ to you but appear in real time in your game to help you out. Now that’s pretty awesome.

There are a few Facebook game traits that have made it through, there are items that you can use real world money to purchase, which doesn’t seem as bad this time, probably because you know the money will be used for good, and there are a few items that you can ‘wait’ for such as potions and provisions. One of my only gripes with the game is the restriction on having to wait for provisions to increase before being able to take on Quests; it interrupts the flow of the game if you are a more seasoned adventurer.

The only other minor gripe is the slightly repetitive nature of the back ground music. But even commentating on it feels like I’m trying to pick faults with what is otherwise a fantastic game. Forget what you know, or think you know about Facebook games. The team at Bossa set out on a mission to show the world how it should be done. Merlin: The Game straddles both the causal and experience gamer markets. Those expecting a Diablo 3 style experience should adjust their expectations, but know in some ways Merlin excels the more linear RPG’s. The game is open, not only in the way you play, but also for the developers. There is no end, no fixed point, the game will grow with the TV series and expand based on the feedback and comments from the players.

I said at the start of this review that my initial expectations of this game weren’t high. Merlin: The Game is a fun, beautifully crafted game, that not only appeals to casual gamers but offers  a real time co-operative experience through Facebook, I’ve gotta say – I wasn’t expecting that!

9/10

Merlin: The Game should be launched this month on Facebook within the UK. An American release will be timed to coincide with the airing of Merlin Series 5 in the US.

Tokyo Jungle

Z1GTeam PS3, Reviews

There are a huge number of gaming genre’s on the market today, from first-person shooters and adventure games to in-depth role-playing games and farming simulators. One genre that often gets overlooked is the genre of “hangover games”. These games are such a delight to play, and so pleasing to look at, that they make you forget how ill you are (regardless of whether this is self-inflicted or not). The last game to fit perfectly into this genre was the PSN title: Journey, by That Game Company, which was simple and effective in its execution. Another PSN title: Tokyo Jungle, by Crispy’s and , also fits into this category.

The idea of the game is to take control of an animal of your choice, from the various species available, through the desolate landscape of Tokyo, after mankind has been removed. To begin with, the choice is limited to a Pomeranian dog or a deer. The dog is a carnivore and must hunt prey and eat them to gain experience and become stronger, but it also performs a more vital role of preventing starvation. The stalking, hunting and eating are all covered in the short tutorial, before you take to the streets to mark your territory, eat and eventually mate to carry on your bloodline. When a new breed of puppies is born, you take control of one of the puppies, and your adventure begins again in a new generation.

The deer, on the other hand, must eat plants to survive, and escape being hunted. While the dogs tend to be more solitary hunters, the deer can form packs in order to defend themselves, and tend to be more nimble and fleet-footed when an escape is necessary. Again marking territories, surviving and mating form the basics of your routine, but time is against you and moves rapidly in this version of Tokyo, so the objectives need to be met as quickly as possible to ensure the survival of your species. You have the ability to unlock additional species by performing tasks and meeting certain criteria in the game, and some can be purchased from the PSN (such as a panda, giraffe or a crocodile), but these all play out in a similar way to the dog or deer scenarios, with slight changes in strength or speed depending on the species picked.

I first played this at the Eurogamer Expo, and it struck me then what a charming title this is. It was difficult to get my head around at first, it was often described as “Grand Theft Auto with animals”, but that doesn’t do it justice. It is a charming game, which has a learning curve, difficulty balanced with rewards, and beautiful graphics that belie the purchase price. The only features that let it down are the lack of animal choice at the beginning (this might put people off in the short term), the repetitive missions and kill animations, and the lack of cross-platform play (this would have been ideal to pick up and play on the PS Vita).

Tokyo Jungle is game that you will come back to, perhaps not every day, but certainly more often than you may have planned. For this reason, I give the game a well deserved 8/10.

Tokyo Jungle is currently available on PSN for £9.99 (£7.99 for Playstation Plus subscribers).

 

NiGHTS into Dreams HD

Tim Bowers Reviews, TimB, Wii

First appearing in 1996 on the Sega Saturn, NiGHTS into Dreams was a strange creature. Created by the legendary Sonic Team, the game is part fantasy, racer, platformer.

You can choose to play as either Claris or Elliot, a boy and a girl who have found themselves in the land of dreams. In this land they encounter a being called NiGHTS. NiGHTS is the last of its kind and needs help to save the land of Dreams.

As the game starts you’ll have to move your character through the landscap until you reach a collection of columns, once you enter these columns you’ll transform into titular NiGHTS and soon be off flying through the level. Each level has four paths, each path contains orbs, and you must collect 20 orbs and deposit them in the giant snow globe type thing to move onto the next path. Each path also has a time limit; if you fail to collect the orbs within the time limit then you’ll crash back to the ground, transforming back into your chosen character and be forced to collect the orbs by hand.

The first thing to say about the game is how good it looks; the HD remake doesn’t actually apply to the original Saturn game though. The HD part is actually an update to the Japan-Only PlayStation 2 remake, there is an option to play the game using the original Saturn graphics, but that’s more for those that remember the game the first time around. If you’re new to NiGHTS then you may be better off sticking with the updated version.

After each level you’ll come up against a boss and this is where the game starts to falter. Each boss is unique, but usually involves spinning into them either to cause damage directly or to ricochet them off causing damage indirectly. The bosses are timed as well which makes them more difficult than they really have any business being.  Some bosses can stun you making the race against the clock very tight and with some it may not be immediately obvious how you’re meant to defeat them. Couple that with a camera that sometimes seems to be working against you and you’ll find that it will usually take more than one attempt to defeat a boss.

The game isn’t especially long, each of the two characters gets four individual levels and then they share the final one, the total game length is probably only just a few hours. Sega are aware of this so they have given you the choice of playing the original Saturn version too, you can also unlock the Christmas NiGHTS levels which will pad out the game a bit further.

NiGHTS into Dreams is a fun game to play, it harkens back to a simpler time of gaming, and the up scaling has been well done which makes the game more enjoyable to play. It’s not a perfect game by any means, games today are more refined and we don’t easily accept faults like we used to, but with NiGHTS we can see past those faults and see how much fun it is to fly.

NiGHTS into Dreams is available now on the PlayStation Network for £6.49 and the XBLA for 800 MS Points.

Katamari Damacy: A General Review

Z1GTeam PS3, Reviews

Because I am almost 100% sure you nerds are all tired of listening to me waffle on and on about how much I adore Assassin’s Creed and everything they do, I’m going to take a break from that and talk about another game franchise that’s very dear to my heart.  It’s called Katamari Damacy, and I love it in all its wacky glory.

The principle of the game is a simple one; you’re given a ball to roll things up to a certain size in a set amount of time.  There are variations on this theme and different environments to explore, but the core of it is the same…Make big ball.

You play as The Prince of the Cosmos.  A little green fella with an unfortunate red growth sprouting from his skull (which has no bearing on the game, I just wanted to give you a visual).  Usually the game starts out with your father, the King of the Cosmos, knocking all the stars from the heavens or something equally as tragic (and ridiculous).  Yes, he makes a mess and then it is up to you, his son, to pick up after him and fix his problem.  This is (apparently) solved by making stars out of large clusters of objects/animals/people/whatever-is-in-the-way-at-the-time and putting them back up in the sky.  This task proves to be both fun and addicting.  Failure to get your ball to the appropriate size leads to the ungracious King looming over you and giving you a speech about how disappointed he is in you that you haven’t fixed the problem he caused yet.

The twists come in the form of you not being able to roll up things that you are smaller than, though this rule is ambiguous at best and can sometimes leave you cursing the quirky Japanese game makers who came up with that mechanic.  Also, (depend on which version of the game you are playing) there are levels where you can only roll up things that are flammable, where you try to gather as many fireflies as possible (in order to light a student’s reading…yep, you roll him up too), and even fatten up a Sumo for his big fight.

Still, there’s something really satisfying about doing all this, sort of like polishing metal, or cleaning your room.  It gives you that “I’m actually doing something” feeling.  The game is weird, there’s no doubt about it, but it’s straight-forward and quirky and extremely therapeutic.  If you’ve played it before?  Go play it again.

I highly recommend it.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit Review

Tim Bowers PS3, Reviews, TimB, Xbox 360

What’s your idea of Hell? Is it Fire & Brimstone? Maybe it’s something more personal in a similar manner to the eternal punishments of Hades? Or maybe it’s being forced to listen to the same 6 songs again and again and again? (That version exists by the way, it’s called Capital Radio) Whatever your idea of Hell I bet it’s never involved a Skeleton Rabbit exacting revenge on 100 of his minions!

Welcome to Hell Yeah! This is a version of damnation like no other. Created by Arkedo Studio, Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit places you into the emaciated body of Prince Ash. His Royal Dead Bunnyness has a dark secret, he suffers from the same affliction as Ernie from Sesame Street, he loves his Rubber Duck. During one particular bath time Prince Ash is snapped by a paparazzo playing with his yellow plastic friend. The photos make it onto the internet, or whatever Hell’s version is, IE6 probably, and soon garner 100 views. When Ash finds out he swears revenge on those that posted the pictures and those that viewed them.

Hell Yeah! is not a complex game, it’s not full of moral choices, it’s not full of agonisingly long cut scenes , but what it is full of is fun. Each level of Hell is beautifully designed and animated, the 8-bit-esque soundtrack provides tunes to slaughter to, the cheesy ‘muzak’ between levels is annoyingly catchy and the humour, for the most part, is spot on!

When you first start the game you are defenceless, that soon changes when you run into your assistant Nestor, as this provides you with one of your father’s modified jet packs. This spinning wheel of shredding flesh is your default weapon as getting up close with enemies makes them go splat.

Most enemies in the game will be smaller annoying types that populate Hell, as you progress through the level you will come across the minions that have viewed your photos. They may attack you straight away, they might not even realise what they’ve done, some may even run away while calling you names; whatever their actions your response is simple: Kill Them. At the start of the game your killing is limited to using your Jetpack/Saw thing, but soon you’ll find other ways including Gatling guns and grenade launchers. When you have reduced their health to a minimal amount you’ll enter a small mini game, these mini games usually involve pressing one or more buttons at the right time, once done they trigger a finishing move style scene, these can be a Shark shaped missile being fired at the enemy, an 18 wheeler truck turning them into road kill or my personal favourite, a T-Rex bursting through the scenery and removing the offending minion of their head. There is an endless variety to these finishing moves so it’s very rare to get bored of seeing them.

Killing isn’t everything there is to do either, there’s also shopping and a lot of customisation. You’ll pick up loot as you work your way through each level which can be spent at shops either on better, faster weaponry, more health, or on hats! If you’re so inclined you can turn Ash’s spinning wheel into a Homer Simpson style doughnut or give the Prince of Hell a Village People style makeover. That’s not all, once you’ve made your enemies meet their maker for a second time they will be sent to The Island, not the Ewan McGregor move – though I’m sure that’s in Hell too, it’s actually a labour camp! Here you can set enemies you’ve killed to menial tasks such as mining, cleaning, dredging the harbour etc, these tasks aren’t just fun, they can give you more money, health or find secret items. All the better for you!

So is Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit a perfect game? Almost. The control scheme can be tricky to get on with especially later when you have multiple weapons and suddenly find yourself changing weapon when you wanted to jump. Some of the humour, especially one particular running joke, gets old very quickly and it will only take you a few hours to work your way through 100 enemies and once that’s done there isn’t much replayability, but saying you don’t really need to play the game twice is not the same as saying you shouldn’t play it once because you should!

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit is a fun romp through one of the best looking versions of Hell I’ve come across. It’s a good platformer with some great ideas and its tongue firmly planted in it’s cheek. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously and neither should you.

8/10

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit is available now on Xbox Arcade and PlayStation Network. The game is free on the PSN for PlayStation Plus members.