Right, as I have now completed X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I was planning on reviewing it. But after what I witnessed last night on Monday Night Raw, I felt someone had to say SOMETHING. I know my last post was on wrestling, and I promise this will not continue to be the way it goes, I plan on adding more variety to it but this needs to be said.
Over the last several weeks, Raw has been taken over by the Nexus, led by Wade Barrett. They strike fear into the hearts of everyone on the roster, and take what they want when they want it. They sound pretty badass right? Like a newer version of the nWo or like when ECW 'invaded' the WWE back in the noughties? Sounds pretty extreme right? WRONG.
There are so many things wrong with the Nexus, I think I may actually like John Cena more than them. Basically, the Nexus is made up of seven 'superstars' (I use the term loosely...very loosely) from the first series of WWE NXT; Justin Gabriel, Michael Tarver, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield, Heath Slater, Darren Young and their leader (and winner of the first series of NXT) Wade Barrett. After the first series ended, the Nexus showed up on Raw and took out Bret Hart and started randomly attacking whoever they felt. All of a sudden, they were a force to be reckoned with...BEFORE they had even stepped into the ring on Raw. Yes, they took out some top wrestlers, but when it's SEVEN AGAINST ONE, even a pack of nerds would win for Christ's sake!
I gave them a chance for a while, I thought I'd wait for them to get into the ring before I judged them...so I waited...and waited...and waited...and then, all of a sudden...a SEVEN VERSUS ONE handicap match against John Cena! Oh yes, what a great way for them to display their talents, by beating the crap out of one guy and try injure him...wait a minute...this sounds familiar...I know! IT'S THE SAME FUCKING THING THEY'VE BEEN DOING EVERY FREAKING WEEK. Needless to say, Cena lost after the Nexus performed a couple of basic moves and their respective finishers. So, no talent demonstrated so far.
As the weeks go on, Cena reveals he's got a team together to face the Nexus at Summerslam, comprised of Edge, Chris Jericho, Great Khali, R-Truth, John Morrison and Bret Hart. That was how last weeks Raw ended. I was left thinking "Okay, next week we could see a few singles matches, and see which of the Nexus can perform." I was terribly wrong.
Last night on Raw, I witnessed a match so poor, I would rather have scratched my eyes out than watch that crap. It was announced that the Nexus would face 7 of Raw's superstars NOT in Cena's team in a 7 on 7 elimination tag-team match. Team Raw consisted of Mark Henry, Tyson Kidd, David Hart-Smith, Evan Bourne, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu and (wait for it) Jerry "The King" Lawler. Why King was in the match I will never know, he never provides anything when he gets into the ring these days, he needs to stick to announcing.
With people such as Henry, Kidd, Hart-Smith and Bourne in the match, I thought they would make it a half-decent battle. But oh no, instead of making it an interesting match, they had Nexus win without really doing much. The legal men would wrestle for about 10 seconds before whichever Nexus representative who was in the ring at the time would hit his finisher and pin the Raw representative without breaking a sweat. Now, at a time when they have been really pushing the Hart Dynasty and Evan Bourne, this is a really fucking stupid idea. With Evan bourne being beaten so easily (after his beat Jericho in a fantastic match at Fatal 4-Way) renders all of his progress pretty much useless.
It was a nothing match. It was clearly there to give the Nexus air time, as if they don't get far too much of it already. But then, after the match, they started talking. I would like to be able to tell you what about exactly, but I can't, I physically can't. As soon as Wade Barrett grabs a microphone, something in me switches off. NONE of the Nexus have any mic skills and they certainly don't know how to work one. The Nexus just need to leave...now.
The one who annoys me the most has to be Skip Sheffield (which is the dumbest fucking name I've ever heard). He annoys me because he is built like a tank, possibly a tank built of steroids, but seems to have very limited wrestling ability. His finisher is a clothesline...surely that says enough. At least when Bradshaw did his Clothesline from Hell, it looked pretty badass, but Skip Sheffield looks like he botches his clotheline every single time...HOW HARD IS TO HIT SOMEONE WITH A CLOTHESLINE?!
I just hope the WWE end the Nexus at Summerslam, but I have a horrible feeling they will continue the storyline all the way to Survivor Series. Please WWE, I beg of you, rid the wrestling world of this cancer, I'm not sure if I could live with Wade Barrett et al being WWE Headliners.
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Monday, 19 July 2010
Knowing Your Role
Whatever happened to professional wrestling? Seriously. Let's go back to just over a decade ago where the 'Attitude Era' was in full swing in the then called World Wrestling Federation and the Monday Night Wars were the highlight of the week. Back then, Raw used to be shown in the UK on Sky Sports on a Friday night, and I would wait for it all week. Now, the anticipation is gone. Yes, I am another 10 years older, but I still appreciate a good wrestling show when I see one. I have always loved the writing behind wrestling, and when I was younger I used to love trying to predict what would happen, and seeing how the WWF writers would deceive me this week. Nowadays, they just don't seem to care.
Over the last couple of months, I have been a frequent viewer of WWE programming, in the sheer hope that they could rekindle the essence of the Attitude Era. Unfortunately, they are very much stuck in the 'PG Era'. There are so many things wrong with WWE today, it's unbelievable.
Let's take a look at an example: The WWE Title. The WWE Championship dates back to 1963 where it was first won by Buddy Rogers. Rogers soon lost his title to Bruno Sammartino who went on to hold the title for a record eight years. The WWE title is/was a prestigious title, only awarded to a select few who could carry the company. Nowadays, they seem to constantly throw the title around like there's no tomorrow. In the last year, the WWE title has changed hands 10 times. So, on average, it's being held for just over a month at a time, before being moved on, which is ridiculous. It clearly shows that they are uncertain as to who can carry the company. Considering John Cena and Sheamus are two of the constant contenders for the title, you can see why they are having troubles.
But, to WWE's credit, they are starting to address this issue. They randomly gave Sheamus a massive push to the top of the card last year, and he is a midcard jobber at best. However, now they are pushing the right performers. People like Evan Bourne, The Miz and John Morrison all have strong gimmicks and are fantastic to watch in the ring, and they are all being pushed up to the top of the card. Evan Bourne particularly has been pushed with his recent (victorious) match againgst Chris Jericho at Fatal 4 Way (best match of the night by far) and recently teaming up Randy Orton. So, things are promising.
Promising, yes, but do they have the guts to go further. John Cena has been the face of the company for many years now, and all the 13 year olds love him, for some strange reason. He is very much the Hulk Hogan of this generation; VERY limited wrestling ability but good on the mic. He has been a face now for many years, and it's getting boring. Let's face it, it's the same few moves every match: Shoulder block, Five Knuckle Shuffle, Attitude Adjustment and STF. Yes, there are many wrestlers who do/have done this (The Rock for example), but some of these are actually competant wrestlers and actually develop more moves to add in to their repertoire. Tell you what, let's make Cena a heel. Think about it. As many fans for some reason follow him, surely a heel turn would have a MASSIVE impact, and would surely bring in the ratings to see what Cena may do next, or if the heel turn was a joke, etc.
There are so many pathways the WWE could take, but don't seem to want to take the risk. They are comfortable with the billions they have and know that they have no real competition. TNA could challenge WWE, but the lack the money, and with Vince Russo writing, they don't stand a chance. Give Bischoff the writing job and make McMahon sweat at WWE. Maybe then he'll do something interesting. At least they are giving Miz a damn good push I suppose.
The present is rather bleak in the WWE, however, current events could point to a brighter future. I certainly hope so. I have been an avid wrestling fan for many years and I want the WWE, TNA, ROH and all other businesses to succeed and for them all to be mainstream. Competition from the other businesses would inspire much more creative writing and companies would have to develop much stronger rosters.
There are many more gripes, but I shall save them for another time. Let's all just hope that Sports Entertainment industry is going through a temporary lull and is due to thrive. I hope so. I really do.
Over the last couple of months, I have been a frequent viewer of WWE programming, in the sheer hope that they could rekindle the essence of the Attitude Era. Unfortunately, they are very much stuck in the 'PG Era'. There are so many things wrong with WWE today, it's unbelievable.
Let's take a look at an example: The WWE Title. The WWE Championship dates back to 1963 where it was first won by Buddy Rogers. Rogers soon lost his title to Bruno Sammartino who went on to hold the title for a record eight years. The WWE title is/was a prestigious title, only awarded to a select few who could carry the company. Nowadays, they seem to constantly throw the title around like there's no tomorrow. In the last year, the WWE title has changed hands 10 times. So, on average, it's being held for just over a month at a time, before being moved on, which is ridiculous. It clearly shows that they are uncertain as to who can carry the company. Considering John Cena and Sheamus are two of the constant contenders for the title, you can see why they are having troubles.
But, to WWE's credit, they are starting to address this issue. They randomly gave Sheamus a massive push to the top of the card last year, and he is a midcard jobber at best. However, now they are pushing the right performers. People like Evan Bourne, The Miz and John Morrison all have strong gimmicks and are fantastic to watch in the ring, and they are all being pushed up to the top of the card. Evan Bourne particularly has been pushed with his recent (victorious) match againgst Chris Jericho at Fatal 4 Way (best match of the night by far) and recently teaming up Randy Orton. So, things are promising.
Promising, yes, but do they have the guts to go further. John Cena has been the face of the company for many years now, and all the 13 year olds love him, for some strange reason. He is very much the Hulk Hogan of this generation; VERY limited wrestling ability but good on the mic. He has been a face now for many years, and it's getting boring. Let's face it, it's the same few moves every match: Shoulder block, Five Knuckle Shuffle, Attitude Adjustment and STF. Yes, there are many wrestlers who do/have done this (The Rock for example), but some of these are actually competant wrestlers and actually develop more moves to add in to their repertoire. Tell you what, let's make Cena a heel. Think about it. As many fans for some reason follow him, surely a heel turn would have a MASSIVE impact, and would surely bring in the ratings to see what Cena may do next, or if the heel turn was a joke, etc.
There are so many pathways the WWE could take, but don't seem to want to take the risk. They are comfortable with the billions they have and know that they have no real competition. TNA could challenge WWE, but the lack the money, and with Vince Russo writing, they don't stand a chance. Give Bischoff the writing job and make McMahon sweat at WWE. Maybe then he'll do something interesting. At least they are giving Miz a damn good push I suppose.
The present is rather bleak in the WWE, however, current events could point to a brighter future. I certainly hope so. I have been an avid wrestling fan for many years and I want the WWE, TNA, ROH and all other businesses to succeed and for them all to be mainstream. Competition from the other businesses would inspire much more creative writing and companies would have to develop much stronger rosters.
There are many more gripes, but I shall save them for another time. Let's all just hope that Sports Entertainment industry is going through a temporary lull and is due to thrive. I hope so. I really do.
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Sorry, I've been a little Taken
Apologies for the length between posts, I'm sure you were all devastated...all two of you...
Anyways, back to form, the topics of today's discussion is Alan Wake. There was a lot of hype surrounding this game long before it came out, which would mean one of two things; it would a complete and utter flop (like Haze), or it would enter gaming history as one of the most innovative games of its time.
Surprisingly enough, neither of these are the case. Alan Wake is a psychological thriller/horror set in the small town of Bright Falls. Successful author, Alan Wake, is suffering from writers block and has decided to take a holiday with his wife to forget his troubles and relax. Relaxation is not on the cards though as dark forces soon take Alan's wife and he wakes up a week later, without any knowledge of the past weeks events, except that his wife is now missing.
Alan starts discovering parts of a manuscript titled 'Departure', what he had planned to be his next book, though he hadn't written it yet, or so he thought. It turns out that the manuscript pages are parts of Alan's book that he had written in this last week. These pages describe the events Alan has just, or is about to experience. The pages also develop the other characters so the player can get an idea of the characters around Bright Falls.
Now, I won't give away any plot spoilers, because that would be mean. Let's start with the positive aspects of this game. The storyline is one of the best I have seen within a videogame. The player becomes completely immersed into the story and, at times, it certainly feels like a movie/television series. Combine this with some pretty impressive graphics, and you have premise of a damn good game.
Unfortunately, a premise is all it is. Alan's weapon against the darkness is light. Torches, flares and flash grenades are all key to Alan's survival. At first, it seems quite a clever way to defeat enemies, and you can be quite creative. But after killing several enemies, you realise that there is a real lack of creativity. Aside from getting more powerful torches, the combat does not develop in any way shape or form. So, after the first episode (each section of the game is split into episodes), combat becomes dull and even irritating. I found myself getting annoyed every time a Taken (people controlled by darkness) attacked, I just wanted the storyline to advance and not bother killing these enemies.
Now, what really got to me, is that the final episode was just a slightly longer, even more annoying episode than the previous five. Alan needs to get to the cabin he and his wife were staying at in order to save her, and there is nothing worth noting that happens along the way. It's just the same enemies, just in greater number, from previous episodes. What is the point in that?
Then, just as I couldn't get any more annoyed...I did...majorly. Alan finally meets the woman controlling all the darkness, and we all know what this means...FINAL BOSS! Oh, wait, no...Alan's going to kill her in an FMV sequence...WHAT THE FUCK?! I got this annoying, crappy author this far, and I can't even defeat the protaganist myself?! Even if it was just a QTE, I would have been happy, at least I would have done SOMETHING.
I am sorry, but a game cannot survive on graphics and story alone. A case-in-point for me is the Half-Life games. People rage on about how amazing they are...because of the story. At the moment, I am forcing my way through Half-Life 2, only for the story. The gameplay is dreadful and I really hope I end it soon...
Games are far more than their storylines. Take Fallout 3 for example. For me, it is one of the top five greatest games of all time. I have logged more hours on to Fallout 3 than any other game I have played. The gameplay is fantastic, while the story is somewhat drab. Fallout 3 is about doing what you want, and being what you want to be, the story just seems to be an inconvenience at times. Despite the poor story, I have played it through four times, with four completely different characters, with completely different experiences. Alan Wake, however, is good for one playthrough only. Once you know the story, there is no need to re-play it, unless you're an achievement junkie who needs to increase the size of his e-peen.
The tl;dr of this review: You can buy it £20 brand new at Gamestation, which is quite reasonable these days, and with new DLC coming soon (free to those who bought it new), quite a good deal. However, please be warned that as soon as you complete it once, the chances are that it will start gathering dust on the shelf. One can only hope the devs add a LOT more variety into the gameplay for the new DLC, otherwise, Alan Wake (despite decent sales), could end up a forgotten flop
Stay safe
Anyways, back to form, the topics of today's discussion is Alan Wake. There was a lot of hype surrounding this game long before it came out, which would mean one of two things; it would a complete and utter flop (like Haze), or it would enter gaming history as one of the most innovative games of its time.
Surprisingly enough, neither of these are the case. Alan Wake is a psychological thriller/horror set in the small town of Bright Falls. Successful author, Alan Wake, is suffering from writers block and has decided to take a holiday with his wife to forget his troubles and relax. Relaxation is not on the cards though as dark forces soon take Alan's wife and he wakes up a week later, without any knowledge of the past weeks events, except that his wife is now missing.
Alan starts discovering parts of a manuscript titled 'Departure', what he had planned to be his next book, though he hadn't written it yet, or so he thought. It turns out that the manuscript pages are parts of Alan's book that he had written in this last week. These pages describe the events Alan has just, or is about to experience. The pages also develop the other characters so the player can get an idea of the characters around Bright Falls.
Now, I won't give away any plot spoilers, because that would be mean. Let's start with the positive aspects of this game. The storyline is one of the best I have seen within a videogame. The player becomes completely immersed into the story and, at times, it certainly feels like a movie/television series. Combine this with some pretty impressive graphics, and you have premise of a damn good game.
Unfortunately, a premise is all it is. Alan's weapon against the darkness is light. Torches, flares and flash grenades are all key to Alan's survival. At first, it seems quite a clever way to defeat enemies, and you can be quite creative. But after killing several enemies, you realise that there is a real lack of creativity. Aside from getting more powerful torches, the combat does not develop in any way shape or form. So, after the first episode (each section of the game is split into episodes), combat becomes dull and even irritating. I found myself getting annoyed every time a Taken (people controlled by darkness) attacked, I just wanted the storyline to advance and not bother killing these enemies.
Now, what really got to me, is that the final episode was just a slightly longer, even more annoying episode than the previous five. Alan needs to get to the cabin he and his wife were staying at in order to save her, and there is nothing worth noting that happens along the way. It's just the same enemies, just in greater number, from previous episodes. What is the point in that?
Then, just as I couldn't get any more annoyed...I did...majorly. Alan finally meets the woman controlling all the darkness, and we all know what this means...FINAL BOSS! Oh, wait, no...Alan's going to kill her in an FMV sequence...WHAT THE FUCK?! I got this annoying, crappy author this far, and I can't even defeat the protaganist myself?! Even if it was just a QTE, I would have been happy, at least I would have done SOMETHING.
I am sorry, but a game cannot survive on graphics and story alone. A case-in-point for me is the Half-Life games. People rage on about how amazing they are...because of the story. At the moment, I am forcing my way through Half-Life 2, only for the story. The gameplay is dreadful and I really hope I end it soon...
Games are far more than their storylines. Take Fallout 3 for example. For me, it is one of the top five greatest games of all time. I have logged more hours on to Fallout 3 than any other game I have played. The gameplay is fantastic, while the story is somewhat drab. Fallout 3 is about doing what you want, and being what you want to be, the story just seems to be an inconvenience at times. Despite the poor story, I have played it through four times, with four completely different characters, with completely different experiences. Alan Wake, however, is good for one playthrough only. Once you know the story, there is no need to re-play it, unless you're an achievement junkie who needs to increase the size of his e-peen.
The tl;dr of this review: You can buy it £20 brand new at Gamestation, which is quite reasonable these days, and with new DLC coming soon (free to those who bought it new), quite a good deal. However, please be warned that as soon as you complete it once, the chances are that it will start gathering dust on the shelf. One can only hope the devs add a LOT more variety into the gameplay for the new DLC, otherwise, Alan Wake (despite decent sales), could end up a forgotten flop
Stay safe
Thursday, 1 July 2010
The Perfect Day Ruiner
I must say, I am in a slight state of heaven right now. Having just moved in to the new house, chilling to some Bob Marley music and knowing that I don't have to work again until Saturday afternoon, life seems pretty sweet.
But there is a spanner in the works, something putting a sour taste in my mouth, and that bastard's name is Far Cry 2.
I loved the premise of the first Far Cry game, and loved it up until you encounter the trigens. I suppose, for the game to advance, it needed something more than going around killing the same level guards over and over, but they could have thought of something better than these pretty pathetic game. It was a shame, I really wanted to love Far Cry, I had anticipated it being one of those games that would live forever in gaming history. Maybe it will, but for the wrong reasons.
When I heard Far Cry 2 was coming out, I was a little excited as I was anticipating a remake of the first one, but with all the niggles either removed or developed into something interesting. I should have cottoned on that this wasn't going to be the best game I'd ever played when the developers advertised the fact that Far Cry 2 had the most realistic fire ever seen in a video game. I'm not shitting you, if you saw the adverts at the time, this almost seemed to be the key point of advertising. Clearly the devs realised halfway through production what a terrible game this was, and thought "Hmm, this is actually a pretty terrible game...what could we do to make it better?" "Hey Steve, you hear Dave got fired?" "FIRE! THAT'S IT!"
Seriously, how fucking retarded are some people that they believe that realistic fire is a selling point. Even now, the Far Cry 2 Amazon page is advertising the realistic fire, I DON'T CARE!
Unfortunately, I hadn't cottoned on at this stage that this advertising was an attempt at compensating for a poor game. So, I picked up a copy, on release, for £40...I know, I know, egg all over my face.
At first, I thought it was just taking me a while to get into it, but soon I realised how drab and repetitive it is. And the fire wasn't really that impressive. Woo, the fire spreads through the more flammable areas, big freaking deal. There was another thing that got to me. The patrols of the guards did not feel remotely natural. The guards patrol vehicles would show up at pretty much every moment you didn't want them to, for example, when you're low on ammo or about to reach your mission marker. They would show up out of nowhere and deplete your ammo, or kill you because you've already had your ammo depleted. This game is just so fucking frusutrating!
Maybe, they will make a Far Cry 3, which will combine the best elements of the first two (the only element I did enjoy from the second one was the graphics, but they really aren't the most important aspect of a game to me), but I won't hold my breath, and neither should you. I don't want to be held responsible for mass suicide by suffocation.
Until next time, stay safe
But there is a spanner in the works, something putting a sour taste in my mouth, and that bastard's name is Far Cry 2.
I loved the premise of the first Far Cry game, and loved it up until you encounter the trigens. I suppose, for the game to advance, it needed something more than going around killing the same level guards over and over, but they could have thought of something better than these pretty pathetic game. It was a shame, I really wanted to love Far Cry, I had anticipated it being one of those games that would live forever in gaming history. Maybe it will, but for the wrong reasons.
When I heard Far Cry 2 was coming out, I was a little excited as I was anticipating a remake of the first one, but with all the niggles either removed or developed into something interesting. I should have cottoned on that this wasn't going to be the best game I'd ever played when the developers advertised the fact that Far Cry 2 had the most realistic fire ever seen in a video game. I'm not shitting you, if you saw the adverts at the time, this almost seemed to be the key point of advertising. Clearly the devs realised halfway through production what a terrible game this was, and thought "Hmm, this is actually a pretty terrible game...what could we do to make it better?" "Hey Steve, you hear Dave got fired?" "FIRE! THAT'S IT!"
Seriously, how fucking retarded are some people that they believe that realistic fire is a selling point. Even now, the Far Cry 2 Amazon page is advertising the realistic fire, I DON'T CARE!
Unfortunately, I hadn't cottoned on at this stage that this advertising was an attempt at compensating for a poor game. So, I picked up a copy, on release, for £40...I know, I know, egg all over my face.
At first, I thought it was just taking me a while to get into it, but soon I realised how drab and repetitive it is. And the fire wasn't really that impressive. Woo, the fire spreads through the more flammable areas, big freaking deal. There was another thing that got to me. The patrols of the guards did not feel remotely natural. The guards patrol vehicles would show up at pretty much every moment you didn't want them to, for example, when you're low on ammo or about to reach your mission marker. They would show up out of nowhere and deplete your ammo, or kill you because you've already had your ammo depleted. This game is just so fucking frusutrating!
Maybe, they will make a Far Cry 3, which will combine the best elements of the first two (the only element I did enjoy from the second one was the graphics, but they really aren't the most important aspect of a game to me), but I won't hold my breath, and neither should you. I don't want to be held responsible for mass suicide by suffocation.
Until next time, stay safe
Monday, 28 June 2010
I bid thee good day
Greetings Blog Dwellers.
For those of you who do not know me, I am Glass Beard. I am here to give you my two cents on various aspects concerning the entertainment industry - with a particular focus on video games, television and movies. Every now and then, some theatre and music will surely crop up, especially if I come across some fucking lame piece post-modernist bullshit...which I'm sure I will.
Like most people on the internet, my thoughts don't really matter to you or to anyone else, but you're reading this, so somewhere down the line, you seem to think these words matter, so I'll keep writing.
The whole idea of these blogs will be to provide a 'level-headed' honest review of all things mentioned above. If I like something, I won't go all fanboy and defend the game/movie/etc to high hell. One thing you will learn over the coming blogs is that I have a particular hatred for fanboys, and I'm sure this will come across as we go.
Bit of background for you: I'm a Somerset lad and have been gaming for about 15 years, and don't plan on stopping soon.
My game recommendation of the week is Kurushi. Kurushi is a Japanese puzzle game released on the PSX many millenia ago. The idea of the game is that you run around on a platform and group blocks come rolling towards you. You have to lay down markers which then makes the selected block disappear. Simple, no? Well, no actually. As you progress, the platforms grow larger and different coloured blocks appear. Word of warning: make the black blocks disappear and the level starts falling away, which could lead to your eventual death, which is never good.
They just don't make games like this anymore. It never got much acclaim when it came out initially (I only owned a demo version of it originally) but it's one of those games that's so hard to put down.
There are faults with it mind. For instance, without giving much away, the ending is perculiar. *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* Upon completing the 9 stages in the main game, an ending sequence plays in which your character returns to the real world from the Kurushi World. It's not really needed, as you just accept the Kurushi World as a true world. It just seems that the developers thought they would throw in a trace of plot in a game that really doesn't need it.
Despite this developer snafu, Kurushi is a highly addictive and challenging puzzle game that will suck you in. It's available on the PlayStation Store for £3.99. Snap it up, you won't regret it.
Until next time, go easy
For those of you who do not know me, I am Glass Beard. I am here to give you my two cents on various aspects concerning the entertainment industry - with a particular focus on video games, television and movies. Every now and then, some theatre and music will surely crop up, especially if I come across some fucking lame piece post-modernist bullshit...which I'm sure I will.
Like most people on the internet, my thoughts don't really matter to you or to anyone else, but you're reading this, so somewhere down the line, you seem to think these words matter, so I'll keep writing.
The whole idea of these blogs will be to provide a 'level-headed' honest review of all things mentioned above. If I like something, I won't go all fanboy and defend the game/movie/etc to high hell. One thing you will learn over the coming blogs is that I have a particular hatred for fanboys, and I'm sure this will come across as we go.
Bit of background for you: I'm a Somerset lad and have been gaming for about 15 years, and don't plan on stopping soon.
My game recommendation of the week is Kurushi. Kurushi is a Japanese puzzle game released on the PSX many millenia ago. The idea of the game is that you run around on a platform and group blocks come rolling towards you. You have to lay down markers which then makes the selected block disappear. Simple, no? Well, no actually. As you progress, the platforms grow larger and different coloured blocks appear. Word of warning: make the black blocks disappear and the level starts falling away, which could lead to your eventual death, which is never good.
They just don't make games like this anymore. It never got much acclaim when it came out initially (I only owned a demo version of it originally) but it's one of those games that's so hard to put down.
There are faults with it mind. For instance, without giving much away, the ending is perculiar. *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* Upon completing the 9 stages in the main game, an ending sequence plays in which your character returns to the real world from the Kurushi World. It's not really needed, as you just accept the Kurushi World as a true world. It just seems that the developers thought they would throw in a trace of plot in a game that really doesn't need it.
Despite this developer snafu, Kurushi is a highly addictive and challenging puzzle game that will suck you in. It's available on the PlayStation Store for £3.99. Snap it up, you won't regret it.
Until next time, go easy
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