GamesTM Issue 13

[JibberX]

Firstly, don't be an idiot.

I've been taking those tablets you recommended.....

Secondly, "yes" magazines have to wait (and pray!) they get damn review code. Most of the PR departments for games companies in Britain are run by ignorant and lazy ****ehawks (most of whom don't even play games themselves and are consequently bloody clueless about their products). Moreover, almost all Japanese/American code has to be sourced through whatever European branch that is publishing it (see above comment on ****ehawks).

See that I did not know, you'd assume that Reviews would be part the the marketing strategy blah de blah blah blah, but in Europe we do things differently I suppose, i.e. not at all. This Continent really is a big bag of wallpaper sometimes! Thanks for the insight though, much appreciated.

[Ginza]

When the mag was first launched, the idea behind the multiformat reviews was to review what was deemed the best version. Although this is obviously not the case any more.

Mart TM will be able to fill you in on the rest. As for console specific stuff, if there's not a lot of games available, there isn;t a lot we can do about it

I wasnt sure who to ask Strider or Mart but who wrote the import "Across the border" feature?

[martTM]

See that I did not know

Then why make assumptions and accuse us of not doing our jobs properly, rather than just asking a simple question? Fact is, publishers (or more specifically, PR people for publishers) send us code whenever they get it in, but it's not always guaranteed what they'll get. For instance, PC code isn't regulated by external bodies as console code is - PS2 code has to be approved by Sony and so on - so PC code is usually available a lot closer to the final release date than we'd like, as they don't have to have it ready as early, hence we often review PC games late. However, why some publishers choose to send us only one version when multiples are available is beyond me - we ask, but often we only get one, possibly because there are limited copies available.

Not that I'm bitching, but... well, don't tell me how to do my job. At least, not until you've done it yourself, eh?

[Cacophanus]

See that I did not know, you'd assume that Reviews would be part the the marketing strategy blah de blah blah blah, but in Europe we do things differently I suppose, i.e. not at all. This Continent really is a big bag of wallpaper sometimes! Thanks for the insight though, much appreciated.

To clarify:

Britain


Japan

[martTM]

I wasnt sure who to ask Strider or Mart but who wrote the import "Across the border" feature?

Why? Got a negative point to make about it? Just that you might not want to be saying anything bad about it around here...

[JibberX]

Right then, I guess an apology is needed, I obviously mis wrote my post, it was meant to be light hearted, I guess the eighteen double negatives threw people off. (And being antagonistic to spark a debate).

For my penance I will actually read the magaxine tonight, then I can give you educated views, instead of my I should be working mis posts.

[Ginza]

I wasnt sure who to ask Strider or Mart but who wrote the import "Across the border" feature?

Why? Got a negative point to make about it? Just that you might not want to be saying anything bad about it around here...

No am not going to join the club would rather keep it to a PM.

[Max M]

See that I did not know, you'd assume that Reviews would be part the the marketing strategy blah de blah blah blah, but in Europe we do things differently I suppose, i.e. not at all. This Continent really is a big bag of wallpaper sometimes! Thanks for the insight though, much appreciated.

To clarify:

Britain


Japan

Hey Japan has tramps too.

[Chadruharazzeb]

[Cacophanus]

Hey Japan has tramps too.

...but they are ninja tramps

[Brats]

For the record, I too was concerned about PGR2's frame rate. I can easily tell the difference between 60fps and 30fps and it was my opinion that all racing games should be 30fps.

You are joking, aren't you? Why in the name of sanity would anyone rather play @ 30fps than 60?

Typo perhaps

Yeah, sorry it was . It should have said "it was my opinion that all racing games should be 60fps."

I say "was" because with PGR2 it really doesn't seem to be an issue.

I got a chance to play R: Racing Evolution yesterday and it seemed much better than expected, but PGR2 blows it out of the water. Until you've played PGR2 with all the online additions, you haven't really played it at all. I think Games TM got it spot on with this one. A lot of the review was spent mentioning the online element and it sussed that this was completely integral with the title.

I do have to take issue with the Amped 2 review though. The main gripe in the text seemed to be that the trick system has been simplified from the original, but this simply isn't true. The sequel keeps all of the originals tricks and adds butters, hand grabs and kick flips for the snowskater. The latter also requires a different style of tricks as all flips must be accompanied by grabs. This is highlighted by the control system. In the original game, grabs could be performed either from the left analogue stick or the buttons. In the sequel it's the stick only as all the buttons are used for new commands.

The other major addition are the style bonuses which really add another dimension to the game. Do you go for a fast double backflip or a slow single flip with more style points? This isn't mentioned in the review which implies all the spins and tricks are very samey. AFAIK this is the first sports title to employ such a system and adds a huge dimension to the game.

It calls the soundtrack MOR, but fails to mention that all the rock stuff can be switched off. If electronic stuff is more your thing (like me) then there are some truly excellent tunes included, some of which have led me to seek out the artist's other material. The rap soundtrack isn't bad either.

The review unfortunately smacks of someone who's picked up the game for five minutes. This is highlighted when it's mentioned that pulling of 10,000 trick combos is no more satifying than a meagre trick, but 10,000 trick combos are a doddle. It's the 100,000+ plus combos that real afficiados of the game aspire to and Amped 2 allows a lot more of these with the improved level design. There are a lot more points where rails are placed strategically after large jumps that require pin point precision to hit and subsequently lead to more high scoring tricks on otherwise impossible to reach parts of the course. I discovered a whole massive area to one mountain that I didn't even know existed until today. And with the butters, the size and scope of combos are almost limitless.

I have no issue with the game getting a 5/10 score, it isn't for everyone and if quick thrills are what you are after, SSX3 offers a much better alternative. But the text of the review has too many inaccuracies to be taken seriously on this occasion .

[Keith@gamesTM]

Something else eh? How about Rare?

Now I haven't actually played any of their XB titles and didn't bother with SFA on the Cube. But are they really losing their knack for gameplay? It would seem (from various write-ups) that their humour and presentation is still surpassing most other devcos but the excellent gameplay of a Rare title has been lost.

Could it be something to do with Free Radical Design? Has the key talent been lost?

It's a shame because I used to hold Rare in such high esteem.

I think Rare's gameplay will improve once the company finds its feet again - certainly, Kameo looks to be far more playable than GBTG, but just as funny. If the worst comes to the worst, though, the Rare/Free Radical situation could be compared to when Treasure broke away from Konami. From what I can tell, many of the top programmers stayed at Konami, while many of the quirky designers went to Treasure. Unfortunately, I prefered Konami's games before Treasure broke away.

[Prine]

Now I haven't actually played any of their XB titles

What? They've only finished one game for Xbox. Conkers remake and Kameo do look fantastic though, Ken Lobb was hinting at a LOTR scenario. Its going to be great

GBTG was announced at e3 and released a few months after, it was never seen as AAA, i dont understand the dissapointment.

[angel]

cos its Rare :P

[Vaipon]

Until you've played PGR2 with all the online additions, you haven't really played it at all. I think Games TM got it spot on with this one. A lot of the review was spent mentioning the online element and it sussed that this was completely integral with the title.

Good job the online play is so integral to the title really, seeing as they are already talking about patching bugs via live. Seriously though, why can't Bizarre get it right first time? There was a bug in MSR that allowed you to cheat, and now the audio glitch in PGR2. Don't they playtest?

I'll admit, I don't have xbox live, although I've played the game 2up quite a bit. If online is so integral that I "haven't really played it at all", then I'll have to reserve further judgement. Just from the single/2 player experience I definitely prefer R:RE, as it's a lot closer to my arcade racing game ideal. Everyone's got different tastes...