Achievement Unlocked

After many discussions over the introduction of achievements I thought it would be appropriate to discuss it in a more formal manner. I will refer to these accomplishments in game as achievements for the rest of the article but it is worth noting that the same can be said for PS3 Trophies, Steam achievements and other types of achievement like rewards.

Gaming from its origin was based on high scores. Each and every cabinet had it’s own leader-board and it was everybody's aim to be the best. Competition is in our blood, there has always been a way to show that  you were the top player. So much so that in the mid 80’s there was a massive boom of what could be described as the origin of pro-gaming, many people flocking from all over America to beat each others scores and prove that they were the best. This competition was so hyped that it gained acknowledgement from all over the world, it was at this point that many people started to take note of achievement in gaming.

Fast forward a few decades and we are standing amongst the gaming wave of the 90’s, although the leader-board system of the 80’s had taken a side step many gamers still participated in competitive gaming. Consoles had now became a staple of the modern home, they may still be frowned upon and those who played them may have been judged but consoles were becoming more and more common.

Several years passed and online gaming was introduced. Everybody could now share their scores and discuss what they have accomplished online. Some games had their own leader-boards, like Bungie’s stat tracker on their website and other online games that monitored their players progress.

Now it is debatable who revolutionised the online achievement system but in my eyes it was Xbox 360. With the current generation of consoles there are many online profiles and each with their own slant on their personality. To make sure they stayed on top Microsoft had allowed their users to not only compare games in their collections but also provided a new and innovative way. With a base of 1000 gamerscore, that can be obtained through various different in game objectives and the players profile being updated accordingly.

Some people argue that these achievements ruin gaming in general. They even say it’s damaging to the experience of a game. People no longer just play a game they want to, but instead they are influenced by the achievements and become obsessed with the accumulation of score.

There are some cases where this is true. Some people endure a tremendous amount of dull game play for the sake of a few points and in some cases will seek out games with easy achievements to further their score. Although this is prevalent in many peoples cases, I blame the company for resorting to such cheap tactics. Some companies do a lot of research in to achievements and in some cases make them easily obtained for the sole reason of pulling in more consumers. It is this kind of achievement that is frowned upon. It’s the kind of games that enable the user to obtain most of the achievements from the start of the game, I’m sure you are all aware of Avatar which happens to be the most infamous gamerscore whore game. This is how many people judge the credibility of a gamer, if they happen to have the full 1000 in this game they can be frowned upon.
Other reasons gamerscore is judged as a bad thing is that it encourages a kind of hierarchy within the community. People are more than aware of their current score and have competitions amongst their friends. Through this it can alienate people from groups because they might not have a lot of point. Although this is not a major problem it can cause tension when people start to be judged because of a number on their card.

On the other hand you have those that argue that achievements enhance gameplay. These achievements can make players aware of certain tactics the might not use or alert them to secret areas in games.

In the case of achievements being used to enhance gameplay many developers use these achievements to direct their player. Sometimes this can be used to encourage a player to use certain items in game or seek out secret areas they might not have before. If done well many players will experience a lot more of the game than they may have seen without this level of guidance.
There is also the argument that achievements can be used as an affirmation for the player. If they succeed in game the success is recognised, not only do you have the satisfaction that you completed a difficult part of the game but you also get a shiny pin to put on your e-lapel.

One final argument is that it is our nature as gamers to seek competition. I have mentioned it before in this article, gaming as a whole is based on the foundation of achievement. It started with leader-boards and has evolved in to gamercards/online personas and so on. We are now able to view not only the people who play at our local arcade but everyone on our friends list. We can compare, share and view each others progress together. It’s a friendly type of competition that we can immerse ourself in and adds a layer of meta to all our gaming if we wish to indulge each other, if only for a little while.

I think achievements are a great idea. They innovate play and have brought a new level of competition to gaming. This kind of influence can allow a developer to flesh out their game to encourage players to experience parts that they may normally shy away from. I myself tend to indulge a little too often in the gamerscore race but it just so happens to be my vice. I hope they stick around for a long time and who knows maybe in the future we might be rewarded for our dedication to a certain game with more than just a pop-up on screen.

Project Update

It's now the end of the 6th week in our development cycle and we have finally started to see some real levels in progress.

The week started with a burst of models to be implemented. These models are flying out of Marc's computer faster than we can think of new objects to make. They all look great without texture and all the characters are rigged for Kinect motion capture.

We also got to see some base textures and applied them for our first prototype. The textures look good and gave a rough idea as to what our game could potentially look like and it looks great. We also started to tackle bugs and glitches that have been happening and implement more ideas in to our game. On top of that I also started on some basic HUD elements this week and hopefully they will be fully functional by next week.

Our plans for next week is to get more art in place, build more levels and hopefully see the extermination of those pesky bugs. All in all it has been a great week and I really hope it goes well.

Is The Games Industry Becoming Stagnant?

As I sit here looking at both last years titles, and those to come, I can’t help but ask myself, is the game industry becoming stagnant ?


Take a look at your favourite publishers, games companies and producers and think about their back catalogue. In the early 90’s the industry was frothing at the mouth with new ideas, we had finally entered a plausible 3D world in which every industry designers dreams were that one step closer to reality. Fast forward to the 00’s and our current generation:Since the introduction of these next-gen consoles should we not expect the same enthusiasm for the life cycle of the hardware itself ?

When confronted with nearly an identical “top sellers” list every year I find it disheartening to see less and less breakthrough in ingenuity. That’s not to say I am against sequels or franchises, in fact it’s quite the opposite. I used to be a massive fan of the “Final Fantasy” series and continue to support Capcom and their range of fighting games.

What I am sick of however, is the large amount of drivel pushed in to our stores year in year. Yes, I’m talking about Call of Duty (CoD) and the way Activision are treating the market. They are not the only guilty party but I for one feel that I have been wronged by this company. Year in year out they regurgitate practically the same franchise, yes there are minor changes but with each iteration I can’t help but having and overwhelming sense of déjá vu and extremely underwhelmed by the lack of changes in the single player.

Some games do need to be treated as franchises, here I’m talking about your sports game. I say this only because sports teams in general tend to change every year and so do the players. One year many can retire and the next new teams could graduate to a higher division. These are the type of factors that need to be integrated in to game play to keep it relevant.

I am using (almost picking on) CoD. this is a game that I feel could be balanced through possible updates. With each iteration they have boasted better online performance and a more balanced set of weapons. Surely some of these changes are minuscule, to the point that it could factor just the tweaking of variables. It’s not like they have a problem supporting games after release, hell look at the number of map packs they are promising to bankrupt each and every fan with. Is it too much to ask for them to maybe for a brief second think about supporting the community as opposed to supporting their bankroll?

There are other companies that also fall short of meeting expectation in my book and we will get round to that. But first I want to try and analyse why is it companies continue to release practically the same game on almost a yearly basis ?

Is it because of a struggling economy? Maybe they are struggling to break even. But that can’t be true, again in the case of Activision, last year they broke records and saw what could be their most profitable year in a long time. This doesn’t solely come from the CoD but if you weren’t aware they have been reaching astronomical figures with their new Skylanders franchise. With each figure retailing at roughly £6/7 and a multi-pack going for just under £20 these small figures are a new revelation in marketing towards today’s youth. These figures have taken off so drastically that they have became almost unobtainable. So how does Activision treat this behemoth? The only way they know how, just recently they announced that not only do they plan to release a sequel but they intend to introduce a set of up to 16 new characters to it’s already large roster of 37. With the game itself retailing at about £50 with 3 Skylanders coming, parents are expected to purchase the remaining 34. And I do mean expected, we were all young at one point and some fell prey to the “Pokemon” phenomenon. This would be a potential £280 just to have the full collection in the original game, now with a further 16 characters and another £40ish game it could climax to a whopping £432 just for one game. Although these figures are based on simply buying the toys separately.

I’m sure if you are an avid fan of either series at this point you may be contemplating a heinous crime or formulating your counter argument against my blatant attack on Activsion. Maybe some of you have even started to compile a list of games that have revolutionised the gaming world that have flown straight out of the doors of Activision or their subsidiary companies. Although if you even look at their back catalogue they have been doing this for years;the Cabela franchise, Guitar Hero, Spiderman, Tony Hawk, X-men and countless others have all been driven in to the ground one way or another. Some of which may have had overhauls on mechanics or slight tweaks in direction but for the majority of them have remained the same and some of which were bled dry to the point that they no longer exist.

There are other companies guilty of this and another big offender is Capcom. They have offended some of their loyal fans to the point they have been renamed “Cashcom”, “Crapcom” and many other names. All because of their money grabbing tendencies.

To add insult to injury most of these companies are now opting for what has to be the cheapest get out ever. I am talking about none other than the HD remakes. Never before have their been HD remakes (yes I know it hasn’t been possible until recently) but come on, £50 for some titles that many still have. It seems to be a fad that has swept across many companies ranging from Capcom to Insomniac. These games are churned out fast and retail for full priced games. Sometimes there aren't even extras like the terminals in “Halo Anniversary”, these are the same games with upgraded graphics. How long will it be until our next set of favourites are upgraded, with rumours of FFX being redone and a lot more in the pipeline.

Why is the industry so devoid of ideas that we rely on reboots, rehashed and ridiculously unnecessary HD remakes. As a games designer in training I find it extremely disheartening to see that there is such a lack of creativity in what could potentially be what was once the job of a lifetime. That being said there is still hope for the games industry as there are still absolute gems to be discovered amongst the hordes of sequels, prequels and HD remixes. Although you only need to take a look at last years online list of most played games to see that some of these games are not receiving the attention they deserve.

What I'm Playing Just Now

It's one of those kind of questions that you tend to get asked. Normally it can be seen as a passing comment between friends and tends to mean what was the last game you played. Although on the odd occasion it means so much more, "just now" could range from anything from the past week to the current season. It all depends on not just who asks but how, obviously certain parties are far more interested than others.

For this update I am going to take it as a short list of games that I am playing or plan to return to in the next week or so. Well game that I hope to complete/return to sometime soon, although I can't guarantee anything this could all be pipe dreams.

The first and newest game on the list is "Catherine", I'm not one to partake in indulging odd Japanese dating puzzle games but when I do I get addicted. This charming little vixen saunters in to our unsuspecting protagonists life, for better or worse it's all down to you to decide.  The best way to describe the game is a puzzle game with a lot of quirky RPG elements, you get to talk to people at the bar and interact with each and everyone person in their own special way. What i love most about the game is the implication of each and every action, there seems to be no two play-throughs a like. It can range from the slightest mutter under your breath to the most romantic gesture to the wrong person that sets your game off in a completely different course. So far I'm loving it and I hope to get a full review up later.

Next up is Jackie Estacado's grand return. I have already been through the game once and really enjoyed it. Although there is some slight differences between this and the first in the series it was for the better mostly and it was also largely expected, although that is to be expected with a new team making the game. The art style feels great although it some times it didn't look the best it could of but I really enjoyed it. The story is great and it is one of the few FPS games that I feel takes tie to actually tell you a story instead of leaping between explosions and chase scenes. I'm currently planning a second run through and polishing off some of the online hit-list missions I missed. I hope to get a review up really soon.

The last game I am currently playing is SoulCalibur 5. I have already got a review up for it and you can read all about how I feel about the game there. Just now I'm just playing with friends and battling my way through the ranks online. I like to boot it up when I have a spare 30minutes to an hour. The game has a lot of longevity to it and I feel that with all my time in game I've barely scratched the surface.

Although after saying all this and laying it out I'll no doubt find another game that I just can't help myself from getting drawn too. Such is the curse of the gamer. 

You stay classy world wide web.

Project Update

It's the end of the week and it seems that  our game has came leaps and bounds yet again.

This week has seen everything slowly getting pulled together, we have more models, we have more scripts and we are starting on backgrounds and textures. Many thanks go out to the whole team, our artists are really putting in the work and new assets seem to be popping up everyday, our programmers have been putting in the work and coming up with mechanics would wouldn't of even dreamed of at the beginning (including intelligent AI that follow you if you are in their line of site, enabling the enemies to chase you, sneak attacks and a lot of other cool tidbits) and of course the designers who are all working hard to produce levels.

Halfway through the week was when we started to implement our assets in to unity and they work and more so look fantastic. Every model was implemented with ease and worked fine with all the scripts, only with minor glitches here or there. Next week we hope to get some textures in, the background implemented and hopefully a fully playable level.

We all have a lot of work ahead of us and things are going to slowly fall together in the next week. Hopefully with enough time and effort this game will really be a good piece for all our portfolios.

Integrated Project 3 Update.

Today was our first meeting with Brian after submitting our project plan. With criticisms in hand we all drudged on toward the meeting room. We were able to discuss care points and possible downfalls of the document. That being said Brian seemed generally pleased with the progress we are making.

Today was also the first day we got to see our game "in action". Although there is currently no textures or backgrounds to the game we were able to see the models run around and see how good they looked in Unity, and my god they looked good.

As far as I can tell they will work perfectly and their was even discussion about using Kinect as a means of capturing motion for the animation of the models. This would mean that we would be able to quickly and efficiently record animations for the game and maybe some quirky movements too if we have time.

As the project continues I can't help but get really excited. At this point in time I even feel that no amount of paperwork could take away from the high you get from this level of creativity. There is just some kind of synergy within the group and we all are really looking forward to the finished product.

UMvC3, The Ultimate Review.

First the community waited 10 years for a sequel and now we barely waited 10 months. The kind folks at Capcom have resolved many of the issues with the previous iteration they have also added a whole load of new characters.

The game boasts the same game modes as the original but with a load more thrown in to the mix. The game still includes the original arcade mode previously seen in the original but with new endings for the new characters. There are also new missions available for you to practice the shiny new cast and their combos. But what is more interesting is the addition of both Galactus mode where you get to play as the villain and obliterate Earth's last lines of defence to devour all the planet's resources and a post DLC game mode called "Heroes and Heralds". What I feel is the most fascinating component about H&H mode is the cards that you can create a set of 3 cards in your "deck" from your collection; each card has its own attributes and bonuses. Some of these cards give you extra damage and others can even allow the player to become invisible when low on health/dashing. Once you have built up your collection offline you can even take your unique set-up online to play against one another online in a weekly competition to wins more cards.

The new cast totals up to 48; 12 of which are new, 2 of whom are DLC and the remaining cast are returning from MvC3. The new characters are wonderfully unique and come from nay different areas of both the Marvel and Capcom universe. My personal favourite has to be Nova, the guy can back his punch and has a lot of cool moves and set-ups. Not only have they added a load of new cast members but they have also revamped some of the previous characters alternate colours as well as adding 2 more to each character. On the lead up to the game's release Capcom even released all the inspiration for their alternate costumes and if you are really in to the lore you can check them out online. Along with the new characters Capcom have also redesigned some maps as well as designing new arenas that draw inspiration from both Marvel comics and levels from Capcom games.

There has also been a revamp of the entire menu system and HUD. First of all the menu is far easier to navigate, no longer are you returned to unnatural screens like its counterpart. Now you can proceed through the menus in a more natural progression. Not only have they fixed navigation, Capcom have went to the point where they have completely redesigned the whole menu and character select screen. These new screens boast a new and very extravagant comic based layout, each background screams character and really captures the feeling of the game.
Now on to the HUD, personally I feel that the previous iteration was very good and provide clear and concise information correctly and almost fluently to the player. The new HUD falls short of the previous iterations design, this new HUD often feels cluttered and it is almost impossible to decipher what is happening on screen (especially in relation to which team mate is mapped to which button).

Lastly I want to talk about the online mode. The matchmaking has been significantly improved, it's now easier to find matches and the navigation is nowhere near as awkward to navigate. There has now been a spectator mode integrated online which makes it a great pleasure to play online as you are now no longer looking at two horribly designed cards rub up and down until one was declared victorious.

In conclusion the game is fantastic, it capitalises on everything that made MvC3 fun and improves them. Some might have a few problems with the release schedule but you never know when there is going to be another drought in the fighting game genre. So I say you should jump right on this wonderful sequel, especially if you missed the original you won't be disappointed. I give it an 8/10.

MvC 3 Revisited.

For those of you who may not have been around for the original boom of fighting games in the late 80's  and early 90's when Capcom took off with the fighting game genre. Marvel vs Caocom 3 is the latest entry in the "VS" series from Capcom, the first entry being X-men vs Street Fighter in 1998. The game was followed by many other entries to the series up until Marvel vs Capcom 2 in 2000. That means it has been over 10 years since the game last hit the shelves of your local store, although there has been several re-releases for different consoles and as arcade games. Now off the back of the very successful Street Fighter 4 and it's updates, Capcom have decided to renew a much loved series.

Although since the last release of MvC2 the fighting game community had started to dwindle. With the introduction of the aforementioned SF4 the community is growing and there is a new wave of warriors (like myself) picking up the games and getting involved in the community. This means it is the perfect time for Capcom to unleash such an anticipated sequel.

The game gathers 44 fighters from across both companies' most famed series and includes several X-men and a good few familiar faces from Street Fighter and other notorious Capcom games. Like many other fighters there is a rather steep learning curve to reach a level of competitive play. Offline you are able to play on training mode, learn new combos in challenge mode and play your bog standard arcade mode. But as most you know Fighting games aren't based around how many times you can complete the story but whether or not you can play with your friends. As expected the offline works just fine and is a great load of fun but at times the online can be laggy and very hard to find a match. A while after the game was release a new game mode was also added, called shadow mode which Capcom claimed would enable everyone to have the shot at "The Best" although after the first one or two disappointingly poor free DLCs, these unconvincingly robotic type players, Capcom started charge for this "opportunity". So I decided to stop there with it. Other disappointing aspects of the online play are the lack of spectator mode. 

Now for the Graphics, this is definitely my favourite part of the game. The visuals are fantastic, nothing short of what you would dream of. They stay true to the very comic book fashion that inspired the game. It even feels like your favourite comics have come to life on screen. And what keeps me even more in awe is the fact that it still manages to capture the 2D element of street fighter without the loosing either side of the series' art style. Even all the alternate colours to the Marvel side has generations of back story to them alone, it’s not just all mango sentinels and oddly coloured magnetos. It’s X-Force Wolverine and Deadpools costume from Uncanny X-Force, there’s even CaptainAmerica/Punisher. It’s a work of genius and I love every tiny little detail from Deadpools taunt to Wesker lobbing missiles in his level 3.

Now in terms of gameplay the series has taken a new variation of the classic button structure by eradicating the much loved punch and kick buttons for a far more simple; Special, Light, Medium, Heavy 4 button set up with 2 buttons for assists. What this does for the game is make the entry level for players lower than that of a usual “experienced player” yes there are still the greats of the community lording it over others but it is far more friendly to give it a bash with friends. There is even a simple mode in which the computer pretty much plays the games while you mash away at buttons, although you lose a major amount of capability it allows for a younger generation to get a basic understanding of the game and work their way up to playing the “normal” mode.

The game is fantastic, you can fun both offline and online. There is a world of combinations within teams you can lose yourself in. If you love comics, games and fighters then don’t shy away from a masterpiece. Hopefully sit on top of another 10 year reign of fighting game dominance. I'd give it a 7/10.

A Tale of Two Swords

I thought it was appropriate that I write this just now, I'm fresh off the hype of LevelUp's first SC V tournament and I have put the work in online and offline. For those of you who don't know the series is about the pursuit of the fabled "Soul Edges", each character has his/her own motive to find the mythical weapon, these motives can be good or evil, no matter what when you character has it equipped they instantly gain extra badass points. The game is a 3D fighter based on weapons; each character has their own type of weapon ranging from tonfas to swords and in some cases gimmick weapons like kebab skewers. There has been several years since Namco's last entry in the Soul series and it was about time they re-emerged in the fighting game community, especially with the recent buzz surrounding the plethora of Capcom games available at this point in time.

The game looks unbelievably good, the scenery is perfect, especially in the forest levels. I love the level design, it's the best I can remember from the series, there are some levels that can feel a little unbalanced but the returning levels from previous iterations have been polished to perfection. The same can be said about the characters; they are all vibrant, colourful and have a great level of detail. Even the way loose pieces of clothing cut through the air when performing fast moves and float during movement looks amazing. The new characters are unique in design and move sets too.

On the topic of the new characters, many of these new characters can be classed and the next generation of; Kiliks, Sophitias and Xianghuas. Although there are a few new entries to series (Dampierre, Viola and Z.W.E.I.) all of them with new and interesting styles of fighting which range from using magical orbs to an obscure werewolf-esque spirit partner. Their designs are brilliant and look pretty awesome. My favourite of the bunch is definitely Viola, her weapon is the orb that she can control and position in the screen to set up combos and juggle opponents to their demise. She has an almost red riding hood feel with her outfit and I see a lot of potential in her. That being said it was a difficult choice, as usual all the characters have a great range of play styles to match your preference and this was definitely a tough choice.

Now about the story mode...I didn't feel too compelled to play it in all fairness but basically it's about Sophitia's son and daughter and their pursuit of the soul edge. Throughout the campaign you play as both version of the characters (their standard model and then with a soul edge in their possession). The story continues for about 20matches but the majority of which are 1 round long and tend to be pretty quick. The majority of time spent in this mode was spent watching rather dull cutscenes about the relationships between these characters and the rest of the cast (who seem to have forgotten that there has been 4 other games in the series).  Other offline modes include arcade mode (minus endings, which in my opinion is rather cheap and takes away a lot from the game), quick play (a mode where you can view multiple AI enemies throughout the world) and a rather extensive training mode where you can view combos and receive hints on certain attacks.

Where this game really blossoms is in the multiplayer aspect, whether that be having a friend over or playing online with somebody in America. The netcode is brilliant, there is very little lag, I managed to play somebody in New York and it felt like they lived next door. There is a plethora of modes available online. One of the most impressive is the global collosseo, it is a massive lobby for every part of the globe, here player can gather, chat and set up more lobbies within a pretty cool layout. As usual you can expect ranked battle and player matches. Other cool online features are the rival system where you can allocate up to 3 rivals to compare progress against and look at their stats from many different parts in the game menu.

But what is most notable about the series is Create-A-Soul mode. This happens to be my favourite part of the game, the sheer amount of creativity in people’s characters is unbelievable. I have played several characters from the "Final Fantasy" series, many different superheroes and my favourite BATTLE POPE. I kid you not the higher the rank the more outrageous their character design seems to be. The level of customisation goes in to so much detail that you can adjust minute details on each piece of clothing and has an extensive colour palette. The majority of clothing is even available to all from the get go too!

All in all this has to be the most fluid and balanced "Soulcalibur" game I have played in a long time, it's fast pace, flows great and has a great mix-up game. If you are a big fan of the series or want to dabble in the 3D fighting game genre you need to buy this. I really hope it gets the support it deserves and I really hope to see some DLC that goes beyond new armour and the inclusion of different colours. I'll give it a 8/10 only because they could of done a lot more with the story based section of the game.

Game Progress

Today we had our weekly meeting with the group for IP 3. We have came pretty far in the past 4 weeks considering we have only been a group for 3. We have a story, ideas, basic mechanics and some base art to create our first prototype.

The main topic of discussion was our ideas on each others maps and maybe ways of trying to do more with less to keep people interested while playing with limited resources. We had a bit of a debate and decided it might be best to try use what Unity has to offer as opposed to asking more of our artists before we receive the majority of our art.

That being said I was just sent some of the 3D models to our game and I am psyched about getting them in game, there is a certain charm about them and I can't wait to see it develop.

Stay Tuned !

And remember we must move forward, not backward, upward not forward and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.

A Story About A Game

This year we have been tasked to make another game as a group. We are already pushing on our 4th week of development in a 12 week time frame. Our group is made up of 3 Designers, 2 programmers, a 3D artist and a 2D artist.

What is the game about ?
Our game has to be based on the comedy of George Carlin and Bill Hicks, so taking that in to consideration we decided to make a game based on anti-establishment. The idea of the game is to go about saving brainwashed Americans and overthrowing the government, for by that I don't want to give away too much. Hopefully one day, if you are reading this you might have enough interest to give it a go.

What type of game is it ?
Our game is going to be a 2D platformer in 3D environments. The aim is to have something looking like a cross between Abe's Odyssey and Shadow Complex in terms of layout. As for art style we haven't seen a lot of artwork yet, although so far we have some basic character designs and ideas on themes and levels with 2D backgrounds with 3D models to navigate around in the area.

What's Next ?
Currently we are trying to mock up levels on paper to get them in to our engine and then hopefully some testing. If we are lucky enough this should be done in the next week or two. After that testing, implementation and who knows.

It's going to be a roller coaster ride but I've really never been as excited about a project aside from last years, although luckily we have managed to rekindle the same excitement and passion for developing games as we had back then, so much so we have almost the same team and plan on doing at least one project during the summer.

Would you like to know more ? 
Then stay tuned.

The Game Plan.

1. Get old reviews up here and done up a bit.
2. Write new reviews.
3. Chronicle my game endeavours.
4. Generate general game chat.

Soulcalibur V at a Glance

There has been sometime between releases of the worlds most beloved sword and shield swashbuckle, yes there are a few new faces but it's the returning characters that make the title what it is.

The story is not much to go on and to be frank it's about I character I couldn't care less about. Patroklos is a whiny male reiteration of Sophita. The characters I have always loved in Soulcalibur have either been version specific or are now dead and buried, and by that I mean given the name of "edge master", alas poor Kilik your stance changes and ground games have been committed to the graveyard of execution.

The distinct lack of a conquest mode/weapon master mode is more than disheartening, I know it wasn't there in IV but you expect companies to learn from their mistakes. That aside there is an odd mode called quick match which allows you to scour the globe in search of different fighters to beat down, batter and down right bludgeon in a bid to obtain titles for your player card.

Lack of content aside the game has never felt more polished, all the characters seem reasonably playable and there is much fun to be had online, especially with the tuned up connections and matching. If you have friends who have the play, like myself, I doubt you will be putting it down soon.

Check back later and I'll have a far more in depth  review about my true feelings and thoughts towards the return of the 3D fighter.

What I Do And How I Do It.

I am a games design student in my third year of university. It's been great fun and I just participated in my first GameJam. I have a great passion for PR and events within the gaming community, after all a great game needs foundations and a community to support it.

As for games I tend to play a lot of Xbox, feel free to hit me up if you want, my gamertag is "esler". I mostly play fighting games but have a deep obsession with gamerscore, well at least I did. I have been circling the 150,00 mark for a great period of time now but that's not to say I don't plan on slogging away. Although I do play a lot of games I try to analyse each one for its true potential, I feel that every game has a gleeming idea buried in its foundation and might have lost its way along the process.

I also partake in in playing some retro games but Dark Cloud has a special spot in  my heart, it was one of the first RPGs I managed to donate far too much time too. I also happen to share a hell of a lot of retro consoles with my girlfreind who has a vast love of retro and unfortunately PS3.

A Real Blog ?

I decided to try this a while back on Tumblr, in all honesty it was a mess. It seems full of people just getting their tits out, posting about depression and recirculating the same old shit.

I tried to post real stuff about me and my ever growing obsession with games and Tumblr just wasn't the place. Now I have finally found a bit of time out of my university schedule to dedicate some time to revamping, renewing and reliving the original fun I had posting my reviews as well as my thoughts and general gaming banter that I love to immerse myself in.

Stay Tuned Mother Fuckers !