I knew coming into this year that at some point a new generation of consoles was going to be released. I knew this not because of some insider knowledge or the ability to see into the future. It was because all the chatter and more importantly, silence, had signposted that a new generation of consoles was about to land. So I set about my task of playing those games I hadn’t finished as I knew that on release day I would be trading in those games and those consoles in order to get the new consoles on the day of release. 
If only I could get that much.
My decision was in tact when they announced the new consoles. It was in tact when they announced the day one line up. It was in tact when I put the deposit down. Then Xbox live changed to be more in line with Playstation Plus.
Some will say that the fact that you now have to pay to play online with PS+ is the biggest change and it is PS+ that has fallen in line to stay competitive. That is a valid point. To me however, the included, no extra charge games (As they’re not free, just part of a low priced package) that you get with PS+ made XBL look pretty miserly in comparison. 
That’s now changed and the promise of very cheap new games each month for both the PS3 and 360 now makes me rethink my trade in idea.
I’m in no way going to say that the games on offer with the XBOX are in any way comparable with the PS3 catalogue, it’s still a very good start. If you look back to the beginning stages of PS+ the games weren’t fantastic. It wasn’t until the great playstation network crash that a lot of people realised what they could actually get. Giving a free month of PS+ as a “Sorry” from Sony was a brilliant move. As soon as I saw that I could download these games at no extra cost I was sold. I’ve been a member since.
We now live in an age where you can buy a PS3 or 360, buy a yearly subscription and not buy another game. Even with the 360 over the last two months you could have played Tower defense grid, Assassins creed 2. Crackdown and coming soon, Dead rising 2. With a promise of two games a month you could easily just play these games and never put a disk into your 360.
With the PS3 it’s even better. Three or four full games every month, one of which is normally a triple AAA title. The quality isn’t always consistent but it’s a crazy deal. If you’ve got a Playstation Vita then it even better. I haven’t bought a game for my Vita in months and I don’t have enough time to play through all of the games as it is. I remember what it was like getting my SNES when I was 10 years old with its copy of Street Fighter II. One game (I know it was an amazing game), no internet connection to play free games. No downloadable demos. Not even demo disks in magazines as we hadn’t advanced that far yet.. I had to stick with my one game until one day in which I was bored, not of Street Fighter, just bored. I walked up to my Mum to ask if we could go out for lunch or something. She stopped me before I asked and said “Do you want a new game for your Nintendo?”. Never has a sweeter sentence been uttered and I jumped at the chance to get Mario Kart. Compare that situation with what we have now and will have moving into the future.
Currently only Sony have announced that the free games will continue on the PS4. They are not going to be the same games however that you’ll get on the PS3. Microsoft haven’t announced anything yet, but if their run of bad image choices continue then we’re only likely to see free games on the 360.
What this means is that I’m not likely to get rid of my old consoles. I’ve recently had to take apart my 360 due to a build up of dust coupled with a lapsed warranty which has left me feeling even closer to my big, white, noisy 360. Do I want to risk it falling into the hands of some little kid who’ll just use it to play COD and shout at adults who are actually old enough to play it? I’m still going to play through my catalogue of old games that I have shamefully left unfinished. At least now the pressure of having to do so in the space of three months has been lifted.
I realise that I’ve fallen into Sony and Microsoft’s web by buying into their scheme of just downloading games, unable to trade them in and help the evil second hand games industry that’s making it very difficult for them to make even more of a profit. Screw $ony and M$oft. Rage against the machine etc!!!!!
I counter that argument with this one. FREE GAMES. FREE GOOD GAMES. GAMES THAT YOU CAN PLAY OVER AND OVER LIKE AN ACTUAL GAMER.
We are living in the best time ever for gaming. If you disagree, put down your big framed glasses with zero prescription lenses, buy some trousers that fit, get a bike with gears and stop being a hipster. 
Don’t be THIS guy
If you want to complain about free games then you need a slap. Also, stop being a hipster.
XBL, PSN and Twitter @Urbundave
Ouya Urbandave
The long anticipated second part of our epic gaming competition detailing the highs and lows of taking popular games and attempting to smash your friends in them to gain bragging rights, social standing and of course, THE GOLDEN JOYSTICK.
Part one detailed the first three rounds which meant the standings at this stage looked like this
Rob 1st 32 points. 2 Wins
Luke 2nd 25 points. 1 Win
David 3rd 22 points.
Johnny 4th 17 points.
Barry 5th 11 points.
Doug 6th 8 points.
Rob is obviously looking very strong following his two wins out of the three games. His poor showing in the shooting meant that his lead wasn’t as great as it could be. We’ll see how things can change in the final two rounds.
Round 4. Street Fighter X Tekken.
This was my round. It was always going to be my round despite having never played SFXT. While I haven’t played this particular version of the Street fighter brand, I played the holy hell out of almost all of the other Street fighters, especially SF4. I even brought my joystick over for people to use if they wanted to. Obviously the main reason I wanted to bring the joystick over was to gain an even greater advantage over my friends and humbly smash them into the worthless piles of dust they really are.
We were paired up at random, with the winner going through having won two out of three matches. I knew I was going to win, so all I could do was hope that Luke and Rob did as bad as possible to give me the opportunity to make up the points over all.
Please remember that we had been drinking all day at this point so I may be wrong with how this went down.
I faced Barry in the opening round. Barry’s experience with fighting games started and finished with Tekken, which even though this had Tekken in the title, had no similarity to SFXT. I won and progressed.
Luke (Who actually owned the game) faced Johnny and dispatched of him easily. This meant I would face Luke in the Semi’s and Rob and Doug would face in the semi’s due to a pass. Luke and I played and thankfully I didn’t mess up. Taking my place in the final. My attention then shifted to Rob and Doug. I needed Doug to drop Rob out of this competition now to give me a fighting chance over all. In the closest fight of the night in which both players took a match, Doug emerged victorious. This meant that Rob and Luke could only place 3rd and 4th. A small glimmer of hope. I then beat Doug in the final. He never had a chance, I was on a roll by that point and had started to actually figure out how to play the game.
Street fighter X Tekken finished like so
1st David
2nd Doug
3rd Luke
4th Rob
5th Barry
6th Johnny
This changed the over all standings to this
1st Rob
2nd David
3rd Luke
4th Doug
5th Johnny
6th Barry
Then. It happened. Johnny in possibly the worst move possible having committed to 4 hours of gaming competition time, decided that he had other places to be. He left. Before the final round. To be fair he was never going to win, but he still should have stuck it out to the bitter end. We have reminded him of this often.
Despite this very upsetting news we carried on. One final game to play to reveal the first Brain Trust Gaming champion.
Round 5. Halo 4
This had been discussed at length. Do we play Call of Duty or Halo. To find a middle ground we decided to play the most COD like game within Halo. S.W.A.T was the answer and I was very pleased.
Due to the change in player numbers we decided to play one on one games, two machines, two screens sitting next to each other while facing the other direction. Set time limit with most kills winning, Everyone would have to play everyone else once with the two possessing the best record playing in the final.
Given the amount of games, I wont be able to give detailed records of who won and lost. I can say this however. It was about this time of the night that I was possessed by the god of Halo. I was making shots that a mortal should find impossible. Head shots from across the map. Turning on people running up behind me and killing them in a split second. I’ve never played like that and will probably never again. Hurrah for alcohol and energy drinks
Barry and I faced in the final. At this point I hadn’t lost a game. You need to try this way of playing Halo with some friends. I’ve not experienced tension like it before. Sitting shoulder to shoulder with your enemy. Hearing what they’re doing but unable to look around. Barry took the lead in this match. The first time it had happened during the night. The god of Halo wanted something else however and I managed two quick kills. I will admit that I ran away for a bit at the end of the match but I knew that victory was in sight and I wasn’t going to risk it. The round ended and I had won my second game of the night
1st David
2nd Barry
3rd Luke
4th Rob
5th Doug
N/A Johnny
This meant, after some very nervy counting the overall winner was announced.
1st David
2nd Rob
3rd Luke
4th Barry
5th Doug
N/A Johnny
I had won. I was so very proud and I don’t feel that proud often. My Golden joystick is glorious and is currently sitting on my mantle piece.
Doug having finished last received the Penis award which he displays not so proudly in his bedroom window.
So there you have it. An actual recording of a drunken night of gaming that has gone down in legend among my friends and I. If you haven’t done it you need a few things.
Tin of gold spray paint
cheap representations of gaming category
Alcohol
Keep your records for future reference and take photos and videos. I promise you’ll have a great time. We’re adding a classic game category for next time potentially using the speed run model they use in the wizard.
It may also become a much more regular thing than once a year. We can’t wait that long and they all want my joystick
XBL, PSN and Twitter @Urbundave
IGN and Ouya Urbandave
Sometimes luck smiles down on you. Sometimes the moons align and you feel a real connection to the project you’re working on.
This last week has been one of those times. I blogged previously about working my way through the Back to the Future games. After starting this run, Telltale games announced that the newest installment of their Walking Dead series was going to be released. Given that Telltale also produced the Back to the Future games it created a nice little topic to discuss the past and present of a company that has risen in popularity hugely in the last year.
I spent a lot of my time over the last couple of weeks thinking about difficulty in games. Telltale games are not difficult. Occasionally you will miss a button press in the walking dead which will cause someone to die when they’re not supposed to. You just restart the scene and usually you’ll skip past the situation. In Back to the Future I can’t remember a time in which I failed at anything. Your actions cannot cause a death or even a maiming. The only thing you’ll lose by not playing perfectly is a trophy. 
If you’re a fan of the Back to the future series then this game is a double edged sword. Equal parts Doc and Marty madness full of twists and turns that make BTTF II look simplistic and dodgy voice acting, awful animation and frustrating game play.
The entire five episode series takes about seven and a half hours to complete if you do the bare minimum. Almost double the length of the film trilogy. I realise that this is a game and should be treated as such but I did find myself actually wishing at point that I could just sit back and watch the story unfold. It is an entertaining continuation of the BTTF lore. It uses in jokes and call backs to the films to really make you feel nostalgic towards something that you’re experiencing in the present. However I don’t think the story hits many high points on its own and relies on those good nostalgic feelings to keep the player hooked instead of genuine story innovation. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of good ideas, a lot of good set pieces and events which could potentially be as good as the films. Unfortunately the games short comings distract you from that all too often and really make you reach for the walk through guide in order to turn it into into that new BTTF film you’ve been waiting for since your early teens.
The thing that grinds my gears the most is the lip syncing. This is now something that is almost driving me to not play Telltale games anymore. It would be nice to say that it’s funny how bad the lip syncing was in BTTF in comparison to the new Walking Dead game. I can’t though, It’s exactly the same. For a game so focused on story and script I cant understand why we have to watch the character models flap their mouth holes like ventriloquist dummies in every single scene. The slow loading times and harsh cuts between scenes just make the presentation seem amateurish and for IP’s that have such a huge following like BTTF and The Walking dead I don’t know how they can just let that slide.
As far as the Back to the future games I can’t describe my experience as a negative one. The nostalgia is strong in this series. However if I was watching a new set of films I would probably have exactly the same feelings without the annoyances that are part of the adventure game genre. I honestly just used a step by step walk through during the last episode just to get through it and that’s the first time I’ve ever done that with a game during my first play through. Do I recommend that you play it? Probably not. If you can watch a play through on youtube then do it. The story and some of the voice acting really stand out. If the technical difficulties of the walking dead frustrate you then stay the hell away from it.
On a more positive I finished Thomas was alone recently after getting it for free on PS+. It’s an indie puzzle platformer with so much more charm than it should. The story is amazing and the music is inspired. Please go and play it because it’s just bloody good. There is also a developers commentary soundtrack to go along with the game, which I almost always love. Hearing how a game is put together and the passion that is involved fills up my video-game-love meter faster than most things. Go play it and then tell the creator @MIKEBITHELL how awesome it is.
Twitter, XBL and PSN @Urbundave
IGN and Ouya Urbandave
The first look at the crowd funded, open sourced console that could be the best second console you’ll ever own.
After playing about with it for a day I’ve got dozens of emulated games on my system and about a million nostalgic feels running through me.
I’ve got no idea whether it will succeed. But in a world full of people complaining about how restricted the new generation on consoles are going to be, I can’t understand why so many are ignoring this cheap, compact and purposely hack-able console.
Following yesterday’s news I thought I would write a helpful post targeted at those fanboys of PC Sony and Nintendo who must have had an amazing time over the past month turning every single post about gaming into a rant about how Microsoft and the Xbox One suck/eat various things and should die in multiple ways.
I don’t blame you for ganging up together and down voting anything that was even remotely pro Xbox. It’s easy to get swept up in the fervor that was created and I understood where people were coming from even though I didn’t agree. I had still pre ordered my Xbox One as well as the PS4.
I had written before that I thought that either Sony would change its policies to match up with Microsoft after getting pressure from studios that were losing money on the PS4, or that Microsoft would go back on its policies after slow sales. I really thought Microsoft would be too stubborn and I definitely thought this would happen in the New Year if at all.
I’m not sure how I feel about all of the changes. I was looking forward to using the Family sharing option with my friends. I wish that was kept in and they just added an option that meant that the 24 hr check only applied to Gold XBL members and if you missed your 24 hour check due to lack of internet etc then you just reverted to a silver membership with all offline games on your system free to play.
However I think it’s smart to change it now if you were ever going to change it. Most people would have forgotten about the features that never were by the time November roles around.
It has exposed some people on comment sections who are lost without something to complain or rant about now and this is why I bring this help to you to let you know that you aren’t alone. Your grief over not having anything to poke at Microsoft with will pass. Just find the stage that applies to you.
These are all actual comments written by actual people.
1-Denial
Denial is a conscious or unconscious refusal to accept facts, information, reality, etc., relating to the situation concerned. It’s a defense mechanism and perfectly natural. Some people can become locked in this stage when dealing with a traumatic change that can be ignored.
“Ain’t gonna get the s**tbox lone, and there’s nothing micros**t can do to change mind, f**king s**zdrone learning from Sony after their pathetic shit”
This person has resorted to name calling as their main weapon has been taken from them. He has decided that despite not knowing how good each console or its games will be, nothing will convince him to buy an Xbox One. The road back will be long for this one.
2-Anger
Anger can manifest in different ways. People dealing with emotional upset can be angry with themselves, and/or with others, especially those close to them.
“F**k you XBox, going back on everything just because Sony fucked them in the a**. Now they’re like ”We love the consumers, we love the gamers”.
What a bullcrap.”
This person seems to be upset that Microsoft has corrected the thing that upset him in the first place. This is an irrational state of mind that should quickly be resolved once there brain has returned to normal and they can absorb information again. This was also the top comment in a video I was watching so it is obviously a common feeling.
3-Bargaining
People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek to negotiate a compromise. For example “Can we still be friends?..” when facing a break-up. Bargaining rarely provides a sustainable solution
“Call me when they remove the Kinect Requirement and sell a console without it, then we’ll talk, otherwise, PS4”
This person (Also a top commenter) is still not happy but at least knows why. They want the deal sweetened even more before they can be pulled over or back to Microsoft. This is the bunch that are likely to be responsible for Microsoft backtracking.
Sad Mario is Sad
4-Depression
Also referred to as preparatory grieving. In a way it’s the dress rehearsal or the practice run for the ‘aftermath’ although this stage means different things depending on whom it involves. It’s a sort of acceptance with emotional attachment. It’s natural to feel sadness and regret, fear, uncertainty, etc. It shows that the person has at least begun to accept the reality.
“Sadly, the future of console gaming looks dimmer for the consumer after this announcement.
If you don’t see it, look up what has led to this point and you’ll understand.”
This person has seen the result of this long and bloody war (One month with no confirmed casualties). They’re probably reading through comments still with a single tear building for an excruciatingly long time before falling onto their keyboards space key.
5-Acceptance
Again this stage definitely varies according to the person’s situation, although broadly it is an indication that there is some emotional detachment and objectivity.
“Ahhhh I wanted to see Microsoft fail.”
They had so much fun. All those meme’s created. All those comments, the statements that Microsoft were finished. All for nothing. Ah well, I should just get back to playing games I suppose.
So what do you think? Has Microsoft changed their mind in time? Has the damage been done? Who will be next to mess up and make gamers hate them again?
XBL, PSN and Twitter @Urbundave
You have no idea how satisfying it is to say that playing the Back to the Future game is like stepping back in time. God I love accurate wordplay.
Now that I’ve got that out of my system I can explain why I’ve gone back to playing the three year old adventure game by (then) mostly ignored Telltale games.
My youth was spent watching Back to the future a lot. So much so that I absolutely ruined it for my parents in the way that only a child, happy to watch the same film every day for a year can do. I have the trilogy on almost all file forms and probably watch them at least once a year. I could probably recite Back to the future 2 from start to finish without prompting. 
Only two years to go
All that to say that I was VERY excited when a Back to the Future game was due for release. Not only that, but the story was to be cannon. This was a continuation of the Back to the Future story. Not only that, Christopher Lloyd was back to voice the doc and the person they brought on to voice Marty sounded incredibly like him. I was still excited when they said it would be a point and click adventure game. It fit the tone of the films and would allow for cut scenes that didn’t break up the game play too much.
Lego really is the BEST
So I downloaded the first episode. The familiar film score hitting and sending good feeling rushing through me. The little sound effects thrown in every so often just added to the effect. I started the game proper and was immediately thrown into a recreation of the opening scene from the first film. I was given the option to repeat the exact script used in the film over some other new lines. My first trophy popped for knowing which lines to choose and I couldn’t have been happier. Then I started to see the gaps. The synching of animation and voice work is as bad as anything I’ve seen in any other game. 
Biff is so bloody awful It’s upsetting
To be honest it’s still bad in the Walking dead games. At this point I’m starting to think that Telltale are keeping the bad synching so that everyone knows it’s them that made the game. I also realised how bad the game presented in general. Clunky animation, low res graphics and shoddy voice acting were putting me off this hopefully cinematic experience.
I then found myself finding it incredibly hard to get back into the frame of mind a point and click adventure game requires. Clicking on EVERYTHING, using every piece of equipment on EVERYTHING in the off chance you stumble across the game designers designated combination in order to progress. In order to not feel too negative about the experience I gave up. I carried on downloading all of the five episodes when they released, hoping that I would return to finish the story.
That time is now. Having played and completed all of the Walking dead episodes last year I felt the urge to complete the five episodes in front of me to find out what happens to Marty and the Doc.
I do not foresee this being a smooth process. The Walking dead episodes were excellently put together and the story flowed better than in my small experience of BTTF. BTTF was Telltales first big game and I think they learnt a lot from that. So let’s get in our cars and break the speed limit as we travel all the way back to 2011.
XBL, PSN and Twitter @Urbundave
IGN Urbandave
Do you know what I wanted to come out of E3 feeling? I wanted to feel as if both Microsoft could hold their head up high with the next generation of consoles and we could all look forward to a bright future of excellent gaming spurred on by the competition that only two companies at the top of their game could produce.
It hasn’t ended up like that though has it.
This one gets a pass due to the Dark Knight reference
Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to playing the next generation of games on both consoles. The stuttering start. Where companies will try to show off what they do without really knowing what is possible, The awkward stage where companies realise what they’re not doing but can’t correct it. The creative middle where everyone knows what is possible and is trying their hardest to get there. Finally the glorious end where the true potential is shown and we really start to see regular masterpieces produced. I’m going to enjoy every bit of that process.
What I’m not looking forward to is hearing anti Microsoft, keyboard warriors flooding every message board of every story for the next ten years with “Microsoft sucks cause I can’t trade in my game.” or “Microsoft only cares about money. Hope you have fun when your net goes down.” or “The Xbone won’t sell a single copy, mark my words” or “Microsoft has taken my rights away from me”. It’s been three days and I’ve had enough. It’s the Red ring of death, again but this time it’s happening before it’s even been released.
I’ve currently got both consoles under pre order and I’m not the only one who’s going to pick up an Xbox One on day of release. I’m not rich. I have a full time job which pays ok but not massively well and has nothing to do with video games so I don’t HAVE to buy them in order to keep up with work. I just want to have both. November is likely to be an expensive month but with careful saving and planning I’ll be able to get both consoles. I’ve seen other people making this statement over the last week attacked for being too rich (I’m really not rich) or accused of being paid by Microsoft to say that (I wish I was getting paid by Microsoft). 
Yes it’s going to destroy gaming. Literally destroy all games.
I honestly don’t see the problem with the choices Microsoft are making. I would make it so that you only had the 24 hour online check if you had a gold xbl membership but that’s me. The trade in restrictions which will stop people from trading in the games that they’ve bought second hand won’t effect me as I buy all of my games new. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, if you’re upset about the trade in restrictions then you should blame companies like Gamestop etc for being greedy. If they’d shared some of their profits with games producers then there wouldn’t be a call for this. I also think that the cloud sharing portion of the system will only be fully understood once we get to see it used in an unrestricted environment. Currently some of the explanation makes it sound like your friends and family can play your shared games anywhere on another console without you being there. I could be reading that wrong though
I also have a pretty boring life so if the kinect was recording everything I do then good luck to whoever wants to watch hours of me eating crisps and then clearing the crumbs from said crisps off of my controller. 
LITERALLY!!!
I’ve seen Microsoft and the Xbox One likened to the Nazi’s over the past week and it just saddens me that I’m part of such an entitled and self important group of people that they liken the option of buying a new piece of hardware with a group of people looking to commit mass genocide.
I think that’s what gets to me the most. When people talk about their rights being taken away from them they show that they don’t understand what a right really is. You are being offered a product. A new product that does many different things. You do not have to buy that product. Nobody is forcing you to accept its terms and conditions. You haven’t been the victim of false advertising. All the negative points are front and center for you to see and you can make a judgment on whether you want it or not. Please don’t pretend you are being victimized as that is a huge insult to people who have actually felt pain and had their rights taken away.
There is a lot more to life than gaming and the quicker some people learn that, that quicker we can all just start to enjoy the amazing few years we have ahead of us
Also KILLER FRICKEN INSTINCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want this. All of it.
XBL, PSN and Twitter @Urbundave
IGN Urbandave
I bought Alan Wake on the day of release back in May 2010. I didn’t just buy the game however. I bought the game-about-a-book-within-a-book special edition. I was incredibly excited for it after watching the previews of what appeared to be a new survival horror game. The concept of a writer within his own horror story really intrigued me while the prospect of a horror game that actually scared intrigued me more.
For those who don’t know the story of Alan Wake follows Alan. A moody, heavy drinking, prolific and successful horror writer who is afflicted with writers block. In an attempt to cure this he takes a trip to stay in a cabin by a lake with his partner. Things take a turn for the worse when his partner is kidnapped by a mysterious dark presence and Alan tasks himself with bringing her back.
It’s a third person action game which relies heavily on combat in which you use your flashlight to destroy the darkness which either inhabits an enemy completely or protects them like a force field. Once the force field has been destroyed you go back to using your trusty guns. You’re also given area effect weapons in the form of flares, both hand held or ranged and also flashbang grenades. You probably all remember your reaction when you saw the lighting effects for the first time in previews. If you don’t please look it up. For a game in which light was your main weapon they put so much attention into the engine and it pays off beautifully. 
Explosions. Pretty explosions.
The story unfolds episodically which is excellent for us modern folk who are used to our half or hour long updates on our favorite shows. Each section feels manageable and doesn’t drag out too long, keeping everything feel fresh. Why did I stop playing this almost three years ago after being so excited?
The answer as far as I can remember is down to my quest for achievements. I went through a phase of trying to complete everything I played on hard mode. While Alan Wake is a horror story it spends a whole lot of time getting you to fight the enemies covered in darkness. This got very old, very quick as I found the less effective tools you’re given during combat stand out like a Blair Witch sequel. 
Just…… Awful
You’re given a timing reliant dodge move to escape your enemies and give you the upper hand as they can appear as if from nowhere. It does not work well. Many times it just slow mos the action so you can watch your attackers kill you REALLY CLEARLY. This mixed with the hard difficulty meant that I was spending ages stuck on boring fights instead of the story. After a while I got frustrated and stopper. The game also doesn’t give you an option of dropping the difficulty once you’ve started so I was stuck in a conundrum. Do I lose the few hours of gameplay and start again or press on. Unfortunately I pressed on and it caused me to then give up. Until now.
This was the game that made me come up with the concept of finishing my games to be honest. The special edition sitting on my shelf mocking me every time it caught my eye. Most of the reviews I’d seen kept talking about how great the story was despite the repetitive gameplay. I REALLY wanted to know the story but I couldn’t bring myself to read spoilers or play the game. I was stuck. Once I finished Gravity Rush I knew I had to bite the bullet. I installed the game and started playing again. Very quickly the annoying combat thrust its darkness coloured (And Darkness is a colour) self at me. However I was able to walk through sections with ease. Maybe I cared less and just flashbanged my merry way into the darkness. Maybe I’m better at playing games now. Maybe they patched it. Whatever the reason I was having fun and by the time I reached the rock show stage I was plugged back in. The story also picked up. Part of my affection for the story comes from the similarity to a lesser known Brett Eastern Ellis (Author or American Psycho) novel called Lunar Park. 
I’d picked it up years ago purely because I loved American Psycho. It’s completely different and starts off reading like a biography which eventually turns into a story about a dark figure haunting him and his family. There is even a slight reference to this in the game when a police officer in trying to insult Alan calls him Stephen King and Brett Eastern Ellis (Might be one of the worst examples of an insult I’ve ever heard). It’s interesting what factors can draw you into a game and this may be the first in which something I’ve read has compelled me to push on to find out more about the story.
Back to the game and while I was enjoying my play through this time around, Alan Wake is not perfect. There are a number of cheap deaths that is a big stress trigger personally, I can count on one hand the amount of non flashlight/gun sections there are. Horror games need more than that to keep the tension and while I genuinely jumped a couple of times due to enemies jumping out of no where I never felt like in peril as a character. If I found a problem it was always due to error on my part. A few more puzzles could have solved that easily.
Overall I would say that if you have it and didn’t finish the game then you should really give it another go. It’s better than you remember and the story is a rewarding one. It’s not ground breaking but the episodic nature keeps you interested and more well written horror games are needed in this industry,
Recently the producers have announced the reason why they’re not making a sequel to Alan Wake and the short answer is money. To me it would be nice to see a continuation of the story but I was wasn’t left with the feeling that it needed to be fleshed out. I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily recommending Alan Wake as there are hundreds of better games out there. If you enjoy horror and put the story line of a game at a higher importance than game play then I think you’ll enjoy yourself. I’m just happy I’ve shifted this albatross from around my neck. 
Yes, even a reference to a horror POEM. It doesn’t get more pretentious than this.
Next time I think I’m going to finish another episodic game that I’ve been neglecting with a soundtrack that even Patrick Bateman would approve of.*
XBL, PSN and Twitter @Urbundave
IGN Urbandave.
*If someone gets that reference I will be hugely impressed and probably try and somehow give you a massive high five.
I’ve gone through many stages in my gaming life. The first was with my Sinclair ZX spectrum. 
If you’ve not heard of it you’re probably too young or you had a NES. Instead of cartridges it had cassette tapes that would take between 30 seconds and 15 minutes to load. Sometimes they just wouldn’t work at all and you just had to accept it. This was my first almost experience with PC gaming.
Later I would get a SNES that turned me into the lifelong Street Fighter fan I am to this day. Once I got to high school was given a PC to do homework on etc. Obviously this homework turned into playing games and thus started one of the more intense gaming periods of my life. The catalyst for this was Command and Conquer. 
I played a demo in a PC magazine and my world was turned upside down. Strategy games were unknown territory and C&C did it so well that even the 3 level demo turned into countless hours spent ignoring homework and human interaction. Once I picked up the game I basically turned into a crack addict. I never really got tired or it and if I had it in front of me right now I’d probably still know what levels require specific tactics all of 15 years later.
It was an incredibly creative time for video games during the mid to late 90’s, especially in the pc market. Taking advantage of higher spec machines and better controls the top down strategy game flourished and produced hundreds of ground breaking ideas. The reason I’m bringing this up is due to my discovering www.GOG.com . 
This is an online store for most of the games that I remember from this era. Adjusted for modern computers with tiny prices. If you played PC games during this golden period be prepared for a rush of nostalgia as you search through the website.
I’ve got about 10 games on my wish list already from the site but the game I decided to pick up first was Theme Hospital.
The premise is simple. Run a hospital as well as possible. Make sure your patients are happy, that your reputation is high and that you make as much money as you can. I remember playing this in my teens and playing it over and over. I never completed it because it’s really bloody hard as I’m still finding. It’s intricate and funny and challenging so go ahead and get it.
Constructor is another game that I fell in love with from the demo. Like Sim City in that you’re managing a city that you build, but with the added challenge of dealing with the tenants both good and bad. You can plant anti social houses in order to sabotage rival housing developers in the form of psychopath clowns or thugs. The humor runs through the whole game and almost hides a very tricky resource management game.
Syndicate wars is the inspiration for the FPS shooter that was released recently. You control a team of four soldiers that have been augmented with bionic limbs etc. That team then acts on behalf of your corporation to assassinate, destroy or disrupt rival owners, buildings or practices of other corporations. The aesthetic looks blocky now, but the neon theme was mind blowing at the time with an incredibly deep game engine.
The game I have fondest memories of however is Dungeon Keeper 2. The original is still excellent but DK2 is an example of a sequel improving on everything the original did. You are a demon who is able to control orks, witches, warlocks ogres etc and use them to take over the kingdoms around you from the ground up. You design your dungeon to attract the various mythical beings and then train them to further improve your force while trying to keep them happy with food, bedding and entertainment. This game also told you off for staying up too late to play the game which I found many a time due to its addictive nature.
Bullfrog is the company that produced three of the four I’ve mentioned and if you’ve never played one of their games you should. Peter Molyneux of Fable fame was one of the creators of the studio which was purchased by EA near the turn of the century. Whatever you think of the Fable games and Molyneux himself you should look these games up on gog.com. They cost the same as a sandwich and will fill your video game gland with dozens of hours of joy.
XBL, PSN and Twitter @Urbundave
IGN Urbandave
Gravity Rush is as best I can describe it an open world RPG. I don’t play many RPG’s but if any others have protagonists as effortlessly charming as the lead character ‘Kat’ from Gravity Rush then I may start playing a lot more of them.
I started playing through Gravity Rush on holiday having downloaded it for free with my PS+ membership along with many others. I was using my holiday time to test out the Vita and Gravity Rush caught me be surprise. I started the game up while on the flight out to Madeira after putting Jet Set Radio down for being frustratingly worse than I was hoping. I’d seen a review of the game months beforehand when the game was released but I hadn’t paid much attention. I’m glad I hadn’t in retrospect as the experience I had was completely my own and without any bias to lead me one way or another.
Gravity Rush opens with a Kat waking up with a case of amnesia and an even stranger case of gravity manipulation (Might not be a medical condition). She is able to shift the point at which gravity pulls you towards. Yes it’s difficult to explain in type. Imagine the force you experience when you fall out of a plane (Because you all do that all the time) Kat is able to “fall” in any direction she chooses. Later on you are able to upgrade this ability to fall faster, add attacks to it, stay in the air longer etc. It’s a very interesting and intuitive system but it WILL make you feel ill occasionally and forcing yourself to not assume that down is down can be incredibly disorientating.
The presentation is nothing short of charming. The sound track is so jolly at times that I found myself just hanging around in an area to listen to it over and over. Dramatic moments are suitably supported with larger numbers with thunderous drums as the music swells. It really adds to the character of the game given that there is no voice acting during the rest of the game apart from the occasional scream/moan/wordless vocal command. I didn’t find this a problem at all but if you dislike reading through cut scenes this may put you off.
This brings me to Kat. There aren’t a huge amount of female leads in games but to me they absolutely NAILED IT. Kat is innocent without being annoying. Friendly without being over bearing and Funny without being caustic. Many a time she would talk with someone and then say the exact sarcastic line I said in my head when reacting to them. The writing for Kat is very clever and makes her approachable as a lead. I hope they stick with her and keep the series coming. If there’s anyone that should be added to Playstation All stars, it’s her. Sony don’t have many female icons in their brand and she would fit that role perfectly.
Obviously she’s gorgeous too and there are a enough scenes that show this off without it being gratuitous. It sticks just this side of suggestive which will probably spawn many a fan fiction while younger players won’t notice a thing.
The controls feel tight. They stick to the Vita’s strengths while not forcing the player to use touch screen controls too much which for me, just pulls the player out of the experience. Every so often you’ll feel as if your attack is going in the opposite direction to the one you directed and this will be incredibly frustrating. This is not the norm however and for the most part the combat works a charm. You are able to lock onto an enemy with a gravity powered kick, use your gravity field to pick up objects and launch them at enemies while also using basic ground based attacks. Again the combat feels satisfying. The only problems I found with combat comes with the special attacks which have a cool down period in between each use. They didn’t feel as powerful as they should be at times and I mostly relied on the thrust kick.
The reason why I’m such a fan of this game, apart from the pluses I’ve already mentioned, is it’s pacing. Missions last about ten minutes each if you get a straight shot through each one. There is some stretching of that towards the end of the game but 10 minutes feels like the average. The story moves on at a pace and I never felt bored. You are also able to take on challenges through the game at any point which again last five minutes or so each. Both of these game types play to the Vita’s advantages. If you’re playing your Vita on the way to work or during a lunch break you’ll be able to start a mission and finish it within these tight time frames. I highly recommend trying to get gold medals in some of the challenges while still finishing the story as the xp you gain will help you massively and really make Kat feel stronger towards the end. Also head back to the challenges once you’ve leveled up as you’ll be able to beat them much easier once you can move faster/ hit harder.
So should you buy this if you have a Playstation Vita? No you really shouldn’t. I hear you ask why when I’ve just written a full page of praise towards this game. The answer is that if you own a Vita but don’t have a Playstation + membership you should take this opportunity to correct that. For the price that you would pay to buy this game new at any shop, you could buy one years worth of PS+. With your membership you’ll then be able to download Gravity Rush for no extra cost and not only enjoy this brilliant game but also four other games that change depending on the month. If you’re into wasting money, then yes you should still buy this game on it’s own and play the hell out of it as it’s excellent. But if you have ANY sense then you should already have PS+, if not just get it now as it’s the best deal around and I would be absolutely gutted if Sony changed it.
I’m slowly posting all of my blogs on to my IGN under the name Urbandave which, while technically the correct way of spelling my nickname, the incongruity of it all really upsets the more ordered part of my brain.
However please come and say hello on any format you wish.
XBL, PSN and Twitter @Urbundave
Why didn't I complete it? 