March 2011 ~ The Geek Mill

Tuesday 22 March 2011

And the Winner is...

13:52

The Geek Mill.

Another year gone and another year to look forward to in the world of gaming, however, let’s take a few moments to look back on 2010's best games and also which games won the privilege of walking away with the all-important Bafta award.

I will be covering some of the more ‘mainstream’ awards but you can access the full list of nominees at the end of my post.

ACTION

WINNER: Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Gaëlec Simard
Ubisoft Entertainment/Ubisoft Montreal

There is no denying that Assassin’s Creed has a huge following and I am sure that the panel of judges are more competent than I, but the last time I played Assassin’s Creed, there was action…but nothing along the lines of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 or Call of Duty etc… So for this to win in a category that includes those two said titles, baffles me…however, kudos to Ubisoft.

BEST GAME

WINNER: Mass Effect 2
Development Team
Electronic Arts/BioWare

There is absolutely no denying that EA deserved to win Best Game for Mass Effect 2, the action is slick and well-engineered, the story is compelling and actually makes this game what it is – FANTASTIC.

GAMEPLAY

WINNER: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Koichi Hayashida, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Takashi Tezuka
Nintendo/Nintendo

Common, who hasn’t enjoyed controlling Mario, and his Brother Luigi around the colour world that they live in. Whether it be the 80’s, 90’s or 00’s – Mario has been in the lives of every true gamer for the past 26years and not only does the game look better and play better BUT the fun is still very much there whether you are 5 or 55 – Super Mario brings a smile to every ones faces. Well done Nintendo, well done.

HANDHELD

WINNER: Cut the Rope
Efim Voinov, Semyon Voinov
Chillingo/Zeptolab

To be honest, with the main character in the game being called Om Nom, how could this not win ‘Handheld’ game of the year – considering this game is ‘outside’ the bracket of the PSP, DS etc…and is more aimed at smartphone users, I am surprised Angry Birds didn’t win. However, considering this game was up against ‘hand held consoles’ they did well.

MULTIPLAYER

WINNER: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Development Team
Electronic Arts/Criterion Games

I am so happy this game won, not only is it a VERY fun game to play, whether you are playing for fun or competitively, but it actually beat Call of Duty: Black Op’s to the top spot for multiplayer – proves that even with the following of the COD series, you need to switch up your Multiplayer action. Hot Pursuit was released in November and ever since, has raced itself to the top with brilliant single player and multiplayer action, excellent soundtrack that gets the blood pumping as you drift a corner on the Californian ocean highway and tops it off with superb high definition graphics. Well Done EA and let us all hope Shift 2 can keep up with its fuel injected Cousin.

SOCIAL NETWORK GAME

WINNER: My Empire
Development Team
Playfish/Playfish

Social networking has definitely come a long way, no longer is it seen by society as greasy fat men in their bedrooms chatting to women out of their league, no, it now embraced by men, women, children all over the globe and with the dominant network site FACEBOOK leading the way, no wonder BAFTA have included a category for ‘Best Social Network’ game and surprise, surprise, it’s a Facebook game – My Empire. Move over Farmville, there’s a new kid on the block and this kid is POPULAR. You cannot help but compare this game to Sid Meier’s Civilisation because, well, it’s pretty much that – Sid Meire’s for the socialite’s. This area of gaming I believe is one to very much keep the electronic eye on as with social networking growing by the day, the games will evolve to a whole other level – watch this space.

STORY

WINNER: Heavy Rain
David Cage, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, Scott Johnson
Sony Computer Entertainment/Quantic Dream & XDev Studio Europe

Heavy Rain was fresh, exciting and compelling. The graphics were superb, the flow of the game kept the audience interested and the storyline was that worth of an Oscar, or in this case, a BAFTA. My girlfriend played this game from start to finish and she is normally a PC Sims player (sigh) and she could not put this down, literally. This game was created by Sony and surprisingly was an exclusive title for Playstation 3. It was one of a kind – it was more like a movie than a game, jumping from character to character and each playing their part in telling the story. There was little to no action, but the game was not about that, it was making the audience think like a detective, question people, find clues in their answers or surroundings. This whole heartedly deserved to win best Story and well done Sony for doing so. Let’s just hope that Rockstars version L.A Noire can match up.

GAME Award of 2010

(The only award to be voted for by the public)

WINNER:Call of Duty: Black Ops
Activision Blizzard UK Ltd/Treyarch

We all knew without even waiting to read the list of winners that Call of Duty: Black Op’s was going to win. The only way this game could not have won ‘GAME Award of 2010’ was if the next game in the COD series was released. You cannot take away that the Single player, story, gameplay is brilliant, however, it is very much the same thing different setting every time. The Multiplayer is even worse, with amount of abuse players get from people on Live or PSN is unbelievable. Call of Duty has a big enough following to win this year in year out, however, hardened gamers will start to walk away unless Activision / Treyarch mix things up. Especially with Battlefield 3 on its way.

So that is it folks, 2010's winners and the games that put their respective companies into BAFTA history. Lets hope 2011 brings the same golden smile to those games that are worthy.

You can access the list of winners (and losers) by clicking here.

Ooh-Rah Marines!

12:13

The Geek Mill.

As the world’s great cities fall, there remains one place that becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected

Battle: Los Angeles

We have all seen trailers and TV teasers that had made our mouths water in expectance of a great film - Skyline is one such film...and we all know how that turned out.

However, rarely does a film of this genre (Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller) live up to the hype of the trailers and 'pre-release' media. I can, however, safely say that Battle: Los Angeles, delivers and delivers very, very well.

Now, I mentioned Skyline and Skyline this is NOT...

Battle: Los Angeles is set in present day (2011) and is a cross between ‘Cloverfield’ (hand-held camera) and ‘Independence Day’ (aliens landing on earth) with a realistic ‘Black Hawk Down’ twist.

It stars Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Rabbit Hole) as Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz who, having lost his platoon on a previous engagement in Iraq, files paperwork to leave the USMC. His plans are somewhat ‘put on hold’ when a call comes into the military explaining that meteors are landing all around the globe - these meteors actually turn out to be aliens.

The aliens want to eradicate the human colony for the resources of water as there is no liquid anywhere else in the solar system – clearly they did not hear about the discovery of water on Jupiter! They need the water to power their ships and mechanical bodies and Earth fits the bill on this front.

Nantz becomes part of a new platoon who includes second lieutenant William Martinez (Ramon Rodrigeuz), Cpl. Jason Lockett (Cory Hardict), Cpl. Nick Stavrou (Gino Anthony Pesci), Cpl. Kevin Harris (Ne-Yo surprisingly, whom I didn't recognise until my girlfriend kindly pointed him out to me!) and TSgt Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez - Fast and Furious franchise).

Their mission is simple: Rescue any civilians in and around Santa Monica police station and escort them to the ‘Safe Zone’.

That in a nutshell is the story, however, as you could probably tell, that mission quickly evolves into much more but I won’t ruin the story for you. All I will say is – prepare yourselves for a rollercoaster of a movie.

Now, I have read many reviews both independent and professional and a few of them criticise the storyline or lack thereof and also lack of character development. My personal opinion – this was done on purpose, firstly, war, whether it be human V human or human V ET, is fast paced, unrehearsed, confusing and downright un-followable until some historian 5-10 years from now writes about it from the safety of his own leather clad study. This film, I feel is rather realistic (and I mean that in the loosest sense), it is more like ‘Black Hawk Down’ meets ‘Aliens’ - the weaponry and setting and personnel are all very detailed BUT the storyline and character development isn’t there to the extent of other films because you are thrown right into the deep end with the marines – there is literally no time for ‘nicey nicey’ thoughts about home or back story on each marine – this is War; roll with it.

Now, with the ‘negatives’ if you see them that like that out the way, there are many positives about this film. The action was exciting and well choreographed, the actors actually trained with the US Marines based outside of L.A (the best action sequence being on a freeway whilst the platoon try to save the civilians), there was enough suspense and tension throughout added by the great music and general pace of the film, the special effects of the aliens and their ships was impressive, the acting was surprisingly good even with the apparent “awful script” critics are moaning about.

Aaron Erckart plays a very convincing Marine Staff Sergeant with Michelle Rodriguez and Cory Hardict delivering solid supporting performances along the way. The biggest strength I would say though is that it was shot and edited very well. The hand-held camera added to the authenticity of the situation and like so many films, the ‘shaky camera’ work wasn’t over the top, though there were a few scenes where it was hard to make sense of what was happening, but again, this adds to the film in my opinion.

Not everyone will like this film; those expecting anything more than what I have portrayed above will indeed be disappointed, but hell, what do you except from a SCI-FI action film? It will NEVER be the next ‘Schindler's list’ and even the hand-held camera as pointed out by certain reviewers will irritate some people (probably the same people who moaned about the camera work in ‘The Green Zone’.

Battle: Los Angeles wasn't perfect (but what film is?) with a story we've all seen so many times before, however, if you’re looking for good action, special effects and solid acting, it does very much deliver.

For me I would normally have given this film type a five or six out of ten, but the acting and camera-work and ‘realistic’ feeling was a bonus to this genre and enough to give this a solid 8 out of 10. Also there were more positives for this movie than negatives, which worked in the film's favour.

Very enjoyable science fiction / action adventure that delivers solidly on all areas. A great effort.

Live Life on the Razer's Edge

13:46

The Geek Mill.

For anyone who has ever dabbled in the PC gaming scene, unless you have stuck to the likes of 'My Little Pony' or indeed 'My Little Pony 2' you would have heard of a company called 'Razer'.

They pride themselves in making high end gaming peripherals for the everyday gamer and professional alike. Their Mices, Mats, Keyboards and Headsets have always been given high reviews from critics and gamers and now Razer have taken a leap of faith and gone where no man has gone before...apart from maybe every other gaming company out there. Razer are going CONSOLE.

Razer are releasing an Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 compatible 5.1 surround headset and an XBOX 360 controller this month. Now, as I see it, their only real competition in the headset arena are from these two well known companies:

Turtle Beach

PX5's (May release)

I actually own the Turtle Beach X41's and a couple of my gaming buddies own the X11's and we love them, sad as it may be, we wonder how we ever gamed without them. The sound clarity is excellent, you can easily pinpoint enemy gunfire or footsteps from any direction. The clarity of voice over Xbox Live is again, very good, especially when the sound of gameplay and voice auto changes to hear both at the same time (a feature I believe the Razer headset does not). A fundamental part of any good gaming headset, is not the sound quality, or build quality or what funky new features the headset has, no, the most important part of ANY headset for me personally, is the comfort factor. Any gamer has I'm sure had a 5-6 hour gaming session, now, imagine gaming for 6 hours using a uncomfy headset - not good. The Turtle Beach headset is light but still feels like a quality product to hold and the ear cups material is a 'mesh' type fabric which allows your ears to breathe and also stops the user from sweating. Turtle Beach knows how to make a good solid product for casual and professional gamers alike.

Tritton

AX PRO's (Out Now)

Now, the Tritton headset has been around since 2008 and is still regarded as a high end 5.1 gaming headset for console (Apart from Wii) and PC. That in itself is a good indicator in showing this is a good quality product as we all know how quick technology moves on, whereas with this Tritton headset, we are 3 years on and its still being compared to the new boys on the block.

Unlike the Turtle Beach headset, the Tritton is not plug and play and requires some setup, this can be seen as a good thing or, as I have found, more of an annoyance - It goes a bit too far in terms of configuration. In terms of sound quality and build quality, it is very much on par with the Turtle Beach headset and another high end gaming headset on the market right now. The only thing that lets it down for me and quite a few people I know agree with me, is the weight of the headset, after only 1hr of gaming, I took a break as I was getting neck ache. Overall, however, this easily holds it own with other headsets on the market.

Now, onto what this post is about...

The Razer Chimaera 5.1 Wireless Gaming Headset for Xbox 360 gives you a true-to-life surround sound experience. Building on their extensive gaming audio expertise from PC gaming, this wireless headset offers pinpoint tournament grade 5.1 positional audio with extra large circumaural ear cups for maximum comfort.

Clearly, the proof will be is the Razer pudding, but this headset is looking to come out fighting and if its anything like its PC brothers, I no doubt believe this will do extremely well.

The next product Razer are releasing in the Razer ONZA, which is exclusively for XBOX 360. If the controller is anything like the mice Razer produce, Microsoft are in trouble...

"Resistance is Futile, especially with adjustable analogue sticks"

From looking at the ONZA, there really is no difference to a normal XBOX Controller (that is not a bad thing!) What really makes this stand out from the Microsoft crowd is the adjustable analogue sticks, super sensitive 'action buttons' (A, B, X and Y) and (and this will really get the PC gamers mouths watering, Razer have added two extra buttons below the shoulder buttons that are programmable - at least now we will know why 'L33t247' on COD can outgun me with only a knife and a bootlace!

You can see on the artwork below the buttons which gamers can programme with macros to give them the extra edge on the battlefield - hell, they may even give you an advantage in 'Plants Vs Zombies'

The only point I will say - and this is very much a personal view, is that the controller is wireless, now, if you are like me, you hate wires and much like with my Turtle Beach's I spent an extra £60 over the standard version just to get away from wires. We live in the 21st century and really the argument that wired controllers are better due to having a 'wire' is really a mute point, especially with the 5.8Ghz controllers and mice out there now.

The Razer ONZA comes in three flavours, Casual, Tournament and the 'Dragon Age II Tournament edition (literally, the only different is the aesthetics)

Personally, Razer are not a company who do 'Casual' so to release a casual version seems ironic. If I was to buy one of these little gems, I would certainly by one of the Tournament variants.

The controller is released in March and much like its headset cousin, time will tell as to whether this cuts the mustard in the console world.

If I know Razer, using either one of these accessories will be a pleasurable experience that you will not want to end.

Up to four base stations can be connected to create a lag-free, crystal clear voice channel for dedicated team conversations - this will certainly help with lag when your team need crisp precise orders when in the heat of pixel battle.