It looks like Sony may soon be winning the battle for online movies on-demand. The service isn’t yet available in Europe but they’ve got over 40 studio partners offering movies, which is way more than Microsoft. Expect the service to arrive in Europe by the end of November 2009 via a PSN firmware update.
Mario and Sonic’s Olympic Games game if you know what I mean sold like the proverbial hot cakes. Not only did it tap into the spirit of the Olympics but it also brought together two gaming greats as they competed along with their friends and enemies over track and field events – see what we thought of that back in our Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games review. Now they’re back competing over snow and ice but does the game get a chilly reception?
Well, the good news is that this game improves on the last one. You’ll notice straight away that all the events are unlocked from the start which is great news in terms of accessibility. The controls are also tighter and seem less random but this does mean that sometimes gameplay can be a bit too simplistic.
Events vary from figure skating and speed skating to ice hockey, curling and of course racing events as you hurtle down slopes and tunnels on skis, snowboards or even in bobsleighs. Of course, this one’s aimed very much at party play for the casual gamer so expect this to appeal more to non-gamers than the hardcore.
Once again, Sega have tried to implement gestures that fit as closely to the real thing. When curling you ‘brush’ the stone towards the target just like in the real game and when speed skating you thrust your arms to-and-fro to get your speed up. You can even use the Wii balance Board if you have one to distribute your weight left and right in the slalom or lie face down on the floor when doing the skeleton. You’ll need some space in your lounge to do this and it may prove just a little bit too much effort for your Nan, best she just uses the remote then.
On a negative note, it’s a shame there isn’t any Wii Motion plus support. Sega say it’s because they want the game to appeal to as many Wii owners as possible and that’s fair enough, but it would be nice to also support the thousands of gamers who’ve got the peripheral and can only currently use it on a couple of titles.
This game isn’t aimed at the likes of me but I know that families who own a Wii just for party games and the like will enjoy this one. It’s not my cup of tea but if you’re in the casual games camp then you’ll be pleased to know I’m giving it a very good 7 out of 10.
I had my first experience of 3D cinema the other day when I watched Up. Once my eyes had adjusted I was initially impressed but then I sort of got used to it. It’s the same with videogames. Next-gen machines come out and everyone goes ‘whooo’ but then the bar has to constantly be raised in order to impress. It’s a pity then that not only does Up have average graphics, but it’s also a very average platform game that’s of little interest to me.
You mainly play the game as Carl and Russell as you move round the 3D platform levels attached to your floating house. Similar to the Lego games, you can play with a friend and must work together to get round the environment. For example, Russell can shimmy along ledges and use Kevin the bird to reach new heights, while Carl can use his cane to climb up ledges and keep wasps and spiders away with the screeching of his faulty hearing aid. In single player mode you hit a button so switch between them which sometimes works and can sometimes be frustrating when the AI takes over and moves characters precisely where you don’t want them.
Most of the time you’re just platforming and collecting coins and artefacts as you go. Combat is extremely limited to swinging your cane at things or picking up items to use against the inhabitants of the forest. Occasionally you also get a boss fight but the action throughout is all rather slow and cumbersome. What do you expect from controlling a geriatric and a boy scout?
To break things up a bit you can also take to the skies and literally dogfight with the talking dogs. For some reason this is also the first thing you do in the game which is odd as it’s set in a scene right near the end of the movie.
Young children may enjoy playing as the characters from the film but this doesn’t offer anything for the older gamer. It’s an average platform game so it gets an average score of 5 out of 10.
News of the new Nintendo DS consoles, they’re now hinting that the next DS could have free 3G Internet as part of the package. With internet access and still the best games for any handheld device, it really could rival the iPhone. Now all Nintendo need to do is let us make calls on it.
There could very well be a Wii 2 on the way sooner than you’d think. According to a leaked Nintendo document, the machine may be out in a year’s time, have Blu-Ray support and be able to deliver movies and games at 1080p.
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