My gaming history – Part 3

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Craig M

See previous posts here: Part 1 and here: Part 2.

As I started work, got money of my own my history with gaming gets a tad cloudy. I think the very first videogame system I obtained from my own hard-earned cash was the original Sony PlayStation. I saved up to afford it and even remember buying a walkthrough guide to Resident Evil 2 in the weeks leading up to getting the system. To say I was excited was an understatement. For a long time the PlayStation was my only system (I think I got a Gameboy somewhere along the line but my interest in that was limited to simply playing and completing The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening).

I played a lot of games on it and recall a firm favourite was Tekken 3 which I enjoyed endless nights playing against a friend and well, those bouts were legendary! Some of the best games on the system for me were of course, the first Metal Gear Solid and also I’d say Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (a series I really wish would come back). I also think Gran Turismo was a particular highlight.

Following the advent of PlayStation that made gaming much more of a mainstream hobby, I did get hold of more systems, firstly the Sega Dreamcast, which I’d say pioneered the online gaming revolution we take for granted these days and was seriously ahead of it’s time. The Dreamcast I’d say had one of the strongest games catalogues around with such gems as Jet Set Radio, Virtua Tennis, Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive 2 and Powerstone as well as many more. It was a short-lived system and really deserved to be more successful – but as at the time the PlayStation 2 had just been released, Sega’s final console didn’t stand a chance. It was around this time I also got a PS2 and a little later an Xbox.

The PS2 was of course my gaming system of choice for a good while but I did like my Xbox too even if the advent of Microsoft didn’t really hit it’s stride until the Xbox 360 came out. During this era I also managed to get a Nintendo Gamecube which I think back to fondly and well, it had Super Mario Sunshine and Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on it, but as with Nintendo consoles in the post-PlayStation era the only decent games were Nintendo produced (mostly) so quickly having games to get for the system became few and far between. I sold it somewhere down the line and think that pushed me onto the last generation of consoles before we find ourselves where we are today.

To be concluded.

Update

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Craig M

What have I been up to lately? Well I can’t recall if I had mentioned this but over the last few months I’ve begun a ‘movie night’ with my Dad. Each Tuesday we watch a movie and have some popcorn. It’s nice and also an excuse to get some movie watching in. It’s not always a new movie though so sometimes I don’t have a review to post afterwards. Last Tuesday was such a case, as we watched the horror ‘Oculus’ which I previously reviewed. Again I enjoyed it and my Dad got a lot out of it too. So in coming weeks you may get to see more reviews, but if there is a lull, it’s probably down to us watching something I’ve already reviewed (I have ‘John Wick’ lined up for Tuesday).

In other news I have been playing a great deal of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. It’s my first proper stab at a Metal Gear game since Metal Gear Solid 2, and even though I purchased Metal Gear Solid 3, I didn’t play it all that much, and I skipped Metal Gear Solid 4. What do I think of this latest entry? Like many games these days, it’s open world and huge, with side quests (ops) and a large storyline that I am only really touching the surface of. Graphically it’s pretty lush. The wildlands of Afghanistan are immensely detailed and atmospheric and look fantastic, especially with sand storms, day to night cycle and great textures, lighting and effects – even if the water is a bit last-gen. I like the concept of mother base too, your hub location where you can build up your army (from kidnapping enemy soldiers) and adding to the facilities for developing better equipment for use in the field. It’s very absorbing stuff. It also plays really well. Metal Gear pretty much invented the stealth genre and the ideas here work superbly, with the Fulton delivery system (the ability to attach a balloon to a knocked out enemy, animal or piece of equipment, and immediately send it back to mother base) proving a great deal of fun. That’s not to say it’s easy as the game takes no prisoners if you get discovered, and the intelligent enemies will hunt you down and nine times out of ten, end your game swiftly. I’m having a great time with it, but like I said – it’s still early days.

I also got my hands on Gears of War: Ultimate Editon, which looks great…it was always a very well made shooter and had some good characters and a great concept. The gameplay hasn’t aged badly at all and you can see how the game has influenced a ton of games since it came out, especially with the rock-solid cover-mechanic and the satisfying gunplay. Graphically it’s quite a step-up from the original, and the textures, lighting and everything looks really good. I’d say some of the design; of the characters and levels has moved on a bit, but it’s still worth revisiting.

Other than this, I’m still in run up mode to November, where two things are happening…firstly on November 9th I finally get to see in concert my favourite band of all-time ‘Garbage’ of which it’s a special 20th anniversary tour to celebrate the anniversary of their debut album, and loads of things are happening online at the moment, such as regular updates on the band’s Twitter, Facebook, Periscope and Instagram accounts, as well as a re-release of the album in special packaging, on CD, Vinyl and digital complete with remixes, b-sides and specially re-mastered versions of the individual tracks. I obviously have stuff pre-ordered, and am looking forward to it a great deal. Next up is my 40th birthday on the 14th. Now I’m not big on fuss or attention, it can make me uncomfortable…but hey I’m hitting the big 4-0 so may as well make the most of it. Not sure what that’s going to be right now, but as I’ll be in London leading up to it, that’s a good a start as any.

On TV I’ve been finishing up season 3 of Orange Is The New Black which has once again been great. I’m also watching Game of Thrones (currently working my way through season 3) and Australian prison drama Wentworth, which I highly recommend.

I’m sitting here also at the start of a week off from work. Damn work has felt gruelling of late. I’ve also got my head in a slightly better place than it’s seemed to have been in a while. Depression, thoughts of things that have happened to me in the past etc. can linger and it’s easy to wallow in it, but it never does me any good or solves anything … so even though moving completely on seems like the hardest thing to do some days, I’m trying my hardest. I really am. Having good work colleagues and a job I enjoy and a good family around me helps a great deal and makes me wake up to myself.

So here’s to relaxing, watching movies, playing games and a few days out. I’m looking forward to it!

Xbox One – what next?

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Craig M

I have had my XBOX One for a few months now and have been quite happy with it. Not so happy have I been with all the negative press Microsoft and it’s new machine have been getting. Firstly I am puzzled by this emphasis on 1080p / 60fps that the PS4 has been touting in many of it’s games. What really is the big deal? How many gamers out there play their games on 50 inch televisions? Because that or close to that size is how you’ll notice much difference from 720p to 1080p … and having sat and played Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and Titanfall, both games that are running below full HD resolution on the Xbox One … I can confirm that these are ‘superb’ looking titles that more than satisfy me even as a self-confessed graphics whore.

I like the user interface, have enjoyed the Kinect even if I feel it’s a little under-used (although XBOX record that is awesome, as is pausing Netflix). The controller is also great and feels great and is a joy to use. Yet I do get the feeling that Microsoft rushed out their machine in wake of the PS4’s announcement – really, it so looked like that. This can be confirmed with the wealth of updates to the console to add features that a little longer development time would have put in place from day one. Yes the machine isn’t as powerful as the Sony platform and that’s unlikely to change even with the recent announcement of DirectX 12 for the machine, which will reportedly aid development, something which developers have struggled with, resulting in games running with slightly less bells & whistles (see above…).

But what can Microsoft do about this, to win back fans to their console brand who may be looking to the PS4 more favourably? In a word – games. This year’s forthcoming E3 promises to have a big show from Microsoft and Xbox, and I really hope there are some big announcements – but what we really need, and quickly is in-game footage of announced exclusives such as Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive and Halo 5 … come on Microsoft, sell your system by doing what you did with the 360 – throwing down our throats big names, quality games that the public can’t ignore – regardless of what is coming to PS4. You have the money, you have the ability … just f*****g do it already!

On a plus there’s games I am looking forward to. I am open minded about Watch Dogs despite the delays and recent reports of a visual downgrade since the E3 2012 reveal. It could still be a very involving open world game. Also I am tempted to pre-order Murdered: Soul Suspect which also looks good, sort of a supernatural spin on L.A. Noir. The future looks good for XBOX One despite the bad press and there are plenty of things to look forward to … Microsoft just need to start making some wise and clever choices and let the games sell their console rather than the media features.

I’m not saying I won’t get a PS4 some time in the future, but for now in comparison to the Xbox One the games just aren’t grabbing me. That could all change, so we’ll see what happens.

2013 and the year ahead

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Craig M

Been an interesting year (so far) and with 2014 looming on the horizon, I got thinking about some of the interesting things I have been able to experience in 2013. Three quality pieces of technology immediately spring to mind … firstly my Sony Xperia SP smart phone, which I really enjoy. Slick functionality, with none of the slow down of my previous phone (the Sony Xperia U) and it’s great for emails, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Oh and it makes calls, takes very good pictures with it’s 8mp camera – can see me sticking with Sony for a phone in the future too.

Next up was my Windows 8 PC … now I was as sceptical as the next person regarding Windows 8 but I really like it. The implementation of Apps, the new Start screen, and general slickness of everything makes it feel like a really state-of-the-art piece of kit on my humble budget. This carried over nicely into the XBOX ONE, which visually borrows a lot from Windows 8 and is proving to be a great machine … even if at the moment the games only hint at what the console is capable of.

Movie-wise 2013 has been pretty good and highlights include Tom Hank’s movie Captain Phillips, Park Chan-Wook’s english language debut Stoker and Tarantino’s Django Unchained. My yearly Top Ten will follow on New Year’s Eve and I think it’s going to be interesting selecting the best movies and choosing what order to put them in. I am sure everyone has their favourites so I will be browsing and commenting on those that I discover on other blogs … look out for me!

This year has also been interesting for TV shows, with highlights including the Kevin Bacon thriller The Following, even with the final season of Dexter proving disappointment. Yet I discovered Breaking Bad this year too, and was the reason I subscribed to Netflix. Boardwalk Empire, in it’s fourth season seems to show no hint of letting up on it’s quality either.

2014 for me, aside from life, work, family, bills etc will be all about the XBOX ONE … with big hitters coming next year like Metal Gear Solid 5, The Division, Watchdogs and Quantum Break. Should be very exciting. We should also start to see true next gen graphics finally being showcased. I’ll be honest in saying I haven’t taken a lot of interest in movies coming out next year … is there an Avenger’s sequel? Oh and what about that rather worrying sounding Batman Vs Superman?? At the moment I am trying to cram in as many movies as possible before the end of the year, with the likes of Iron Man 3, Kick-Ass 2 and Monsters University all scheduled to be reviewed in the next fortnight. Oh and let’s not forget a little movie by the name of The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug.

Plenty to think about and watch in the coming days, and hay it’s Christmas too – so I will report back as usual on what I have gratefully received on the day.

Craig.

PS4 for the win?

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Craig M

You may be surprised to read this, but I think I see me owning a PlayStation 4 in the future, more than the XBOX ONE. Why this sort-of turn around? In a word: gimmicks. The gimmicks of the XBOX ONE have put me off to a degree. I just don’t want to talk to my XBOX ONE or use hand gestures. Also the U.I. look a great deal like Windows 8 – which I already have. It seems clear to me the focus in the design of the console has not been the games but the gimmicks, such as watching TV which I personally will not get to do as I don’t have satellite or free-view coming into my bedroom. So taking all that away, warranting that extra £80 is difficult. Yes some of the exclusives I will miss, the next Gears Of War I’d have liked to play … even though Halo and Forza Motorsport don’t interest me all that much.

Now turning to the PS4, it’s clear it’s all about the games, with gimmicks like sharing gameplay, watching Netflix etc pushed into the background – as it should be. PS4 is primarily a gaming machine … and that’s where I stand, so it’s increasingly looking like PS4 is the console for me – I even got to handle the new Dualshock 4 the other day, which has gone a long way to sway me. At this stage some of those hyped games have been pushed back to 2014, yet we still have the meaty looking Killzone Shadowfall, and to be honest … Knack looks my kind of fun. Also let’s not forget the free to play games like Warframe which although not shouting next-gen do look worth a go, at least in the weeks or months until the big hitters like Watchdogs and Metal Gear Solid 5 turn up.

So ok readers, I am not fully saying the PS4 is my next games console (can I live without Titanfall??) … but at the moment, Microsoft are struggling to convince me otherwise.