planetf1.com

@ Alien - I wholly agree on every front.

Also, kickstarter is great. I put in a couple of quid for the Defense Grid Kickstarter for more levels. I can't recall if they got enough to merit the level editor that I want oh so much. But it is a smart system for games where there is a smallish but dedicated fanbase. And it ends up being about as expensive or cheaper than getting the game itself would be. Big fan of kickstarter. And yes, the gaming industry seems to only be successful on a small "cheap" scale and a massive multi-million dollar scale.

Anyone going to buy Aliens: Colonial Marines? I love the Alien franchise so am definitely buying it, even though I haven't read or heard too much about it.

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Räikkönen - Vettel - Rosberg - Bottas

@f1madman, the Wii U is certainly not just aimed at the younger generation as some of the higher profile games that you would have previously only seen on the Xbox, Playstation and PC are now being released on the Wii U such as Assassins Creed III which I personally think is fantastic also I'm guessing you may have been joking with your comment with the smiley afterwards

@minchy, the Wii U is, in my opinion a great concept, I will agree that playing Assassins Creed III is pointless if you have played it before as the gamepad adds nothing new except very minor things. The other two games I have make much better use of the gamepad and these are ZombiU and Batman Arkham City Armored Edition. In ZombiU your whole experience is backed up by the gamepad a features, such as aiming a ranged weapon such as a crossbow, managing your inventory (while the action continues on the tv), the map is also displayed on the gamepad but the feature in ZombiU that makes the experience more real (if you can ever call the zombie genre real) is that the voice of the character known as the prepper only comes through the gamepad (unless I believe the gamepad volume is switched off), also nearly forgot to mention the scanning mode where you can move the gamepad around with your arms (fun for a while) or with the joysticks which I felt was slightly better. As for Batman is uses quite a few of the same features as ZombiU with the detective mode (scanner in ZombiU), Alfred speaks through the gamepad and the whole map and levelling system is conducted via the gamepad screen as is setting waypoints on the map. Whenever I play Skyrim on the Xbox I just imagine how great a game like that would be on the Wii U as you said your inventory would be completly to hand whenever you need it. Just another point in that I agree with you on Nintendos build quality, I have only had one product brek which was my launch Wii, that happend two days before the Wii U was released

@mac_d, I presume from your first comment that you have had some experience with the Wii U as you mention that it is slightly slower than its competitors, while it is slightly slower than the Xbox and Playstation it's certainly no slouch but I would expect it to be quicker with 1GB of ram dedicated to the OS and another 1GB to playing the games. Talking about graphics the Wii U is obviously a massive leap from the Wii, but at the moment I would say they are on par with the Xbox and Playstation but I feel as developers get to grips with the Wii U the graphics will improve. I agree that in comparison the Wii U may be the cheapest option out of the other two contenders (whenever they are announced), especially as Sony are going to push the 4K resolution even though only the incredibly rich will be able to afford a 4K TV as they are somthing like £20,000? (Feel free to correct me if this is wrong)

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Jenson Button Fan.

So what did you get for that 'review'? I've watched a few of his reviews and in not 1 have I found any useful information! He comes across like a Charlie Brooker imitator, just bitches about everything but doesn't seem to say much. I don't think any of his vids actually give me any idea of whether to get games or not.

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

I know it is trivial, but it bothers me. I just feel it should be much slicker at a basic level. It also has reduced frame rate in whatever game I was playing on it. The games themselves, Batman and Assassin's Creed seemed to play fine, and if I want to play it and also have sport on in the background I like the idea of being able to. I found the touch screen a little unresponsive, though not really hinderingly so. I'd have preferred it be kitted out with capacitance and an equivalent to Samsung's S-pen than the resistive screen it has. I do not consider any of them a major issue at all. But it is making me thing twice. Plus, now I researched them I kind of want a Ouya.



Penny Arcade on Dead Space 3's microtransactions and the bullshit surrounding them.
http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-2F ... x10000.jpg

^^^^ I agree with most of what you said, although I still think the wii is the best looking console of the past 3. Its small, simple and quite (although that's mainly due to it being a less powerful machine).

A couple of things did occur to me when I was reading though. The whole sniper thing, I agree that the way games work now is fine, but I can see an advantage when playing with someone else on the sofa that they can keep a lookout for you on the main screen. But that assumes your not playing online with someone with a head set.

The controller, even though I do think it's a great idea, I was quite amazed at how unergonomic (is that a word?) and bulky it was, because since the N64 Nintendo have always specifically made ergonomic controllers. I'm a little worried that going release a redesigned controller which is a little easier to hold at a huge cost to first edition buyers.

As for the endangered 360's, I've just sold a first edition 360, with 3 red lights, on ebay for £80!!!!!!!! Just cause some gamers want them for the old dashboard.

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

If Smartglass did get implemented well (knowing MS, this would only be on Surface tablets) to allow you to have a map or something on a tablet or phone that would be cool. For games like Hitman, that would be a godsend (perhaps actually breaking the game).



So I'm almost at the end of Dead Space 2, then I have the DLC pack to get through. Very enjoyable game, better than Dead Space though both are worth playing. The story was enjoyable throughout and I'm almost tempted to buy Dead Space 3 on my way home. However, I'm still under embargo to clear my backlog of games, so I won't.

Smartglas is available on android and I have had it for a couple of years on my windows phone (under another name). It dies work well for browsing etc, using you're phone as a keyboard and mouse pad but it isn't being used is any games that I've seen yet.

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

True, I forgot that only 1 of my friends has an android phone which could use it. I've got it on a WP8 I'm using it on, so I'll try and borrow Halo 4 and report back!

It should also he said that the responsiveness of smartglass is very limited depending on your band width available.

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

Re: Smartglass - Interesting stuff. I rarely use it. I use it sometimes if I'm watching something in bed and I forget to bring the controller over with me, as I charge my phone next to my bed. It's always been pretty decent speed for me. I did not know that it had some connectivity with games directly though. Microsoft are stealing my ideas... (before I've had them...)


Anyway, I decided to do Dead Space 2 on Hardcore mode. You get 3 saves and no checkpoints. There is however, a positive oversight in that once you switch disks you only have to return to that point rather than the very beginning. I was on Chapter 6 last night, no saves and the game glitched me and killed me. I was in a safe room, and I was watching the screen and Issac just exploded. Found it amusing more than anything else to be honest. If I have enough time (probably the weekend), I figure I can split the game into 5 long checkpoints:
Start - chapter 5 (save 1)
Chapter 5 to disk Switch in Chapter 7
disk switch to chapter 10 (save 2)
Chapter 10 to Chapter 13 or so (save 3)
Chapter 13 to End of game

It's odd, it's like Alan Wake in so much as the difficulty adds to the game. I was properly afraid of every enemy. Combine this with being generally more tense and the moody, tension building sections really get your heart pumping. I was enjoying it a lot more on this setting. Alan Wake had an issue like this too. For those that haven't played it (if you have an Xbox I recommend it), it was a kind of psychological-story but played somewhat like (new) Resident Evil. On the lower settings it was pretty much run about, kill everything and be done with it. On harder settings, fights were difficult enough that a one on one was still easily won, but when you got swarmed you pretty much had to fear for your life and just run to a safe zone. Brilliant stuff. I've lately come to find that harder settings often make thegame more fun. I love Mass Effect on Insanity as I kind of figure that Shep and team should be getting their arses kicked a lot. they win, but it's always a battle. When you play it on easy the lack of challenge translates to dissonance between gameplay and plot.

I'm hearing terrible, terrible things about Colonial Marines I probably will still play it at some point - I managed to get some enjoyment out of the recent AVP which was equally generic so hopefully it'll kill a day.

Finding it really hard to put time aside for games at the moment - I still have hitman absolution and sonic generations sealed and I haven't touched Ni No Kuni yet - I've watched my girlfriend play it though, I'm sure I'll lose plenty of hours to it soon..

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I AM THE THREAD KILLER.

The only thing I don't like about it is navigating the menus. I have to hit the buttons twice sometimes for the input to be taken. I thought it was the controller at first, but it happens with my new controller, too.

Would love to have more stages per rally, too. Maybe 8-10 stages.

That's it, though. The game is fucking amazing.

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Another thing is the co-driver is way too late with his directions IMO, quite a few crashes could’ve been prevented if he’d said “right 2” before I was already in the damn corner. I find myself looking at the signs in the HUD which naturally is distracting.

Other than that I too find the game wonderful. I think someone here wrote about setting the brake bias all the way forward, if anything I’m setting it more backwards!

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Räikkönen - Vettel - Rosberg - Bottas

F1 race stars is shit!

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minus Vettel

I only played the demo, but it seemed like absolute crap to me. It was like Mario Kart in it's later years.. ya know, after Mario Kart became crap. Plus, they absolutely scammed people on it. While the price seemed cheap for a full game, the put out a lot of the current F1 tracks as DLC, which was relativelye xpensive for what you got. And frankly, when I played it I thought it would be on Xbox Arcade or Playstation Network as a downloadable "arcade"* game. I thought it would be, at the most £10. I think they were just taking the piss with their pricing and their DLC releases. I will never buy that game.

* by arcade I mean a smaller, cheaper game that is released purely through their DD networks rather than as a full retail game, if you know what I mean.


I finished Dead Space 2 on Hardcore yesterday. Died on Chapter 13 after not saving since late Chapter 9. So I got back to 13 and saved. The final run as pretty scary, with a lot of big enemies about but I finished it. then I went to work on the DLC (Severed - not really worth playing but if you like the game, why not?). Finished that. At this point, I had 2 achievements left to get, so I loaded up the game and knocked them out within about 10 minutes. I'm not a total achievement whore type, but I do like to get the ones I can (hence gamerscore above 100k). Did these and now have 1250G on this game. So it's done. Trouble is, I've been told Zealot in DS2 is harder than Impossible in Dead Space, and now I want to try it!

Also playing Portal 2, though it is a chore. I bought it, so I'll finish it, but I'm not enjoying it anywhere near as much as the first game. The puzzles are pretty boring and lack a certain something compared to the first game. the first game was also clearer on where you need to go and letting the rest be done by you. In this game, I'm often left unclear with where I need to go. And still, the attempts at reaching the same level of humour as the first is failing. Stephen Marchant does a good enough job, but the writing just isn't there. GlaDOS is also not quite as amusing with her sarcasm as before. I'll aim to have this finished (storyline wise) by the end of the weekend. Then I'll need to decide what I strike off my backlog next. Might just play something simple like Mindjack and get it blasted out in a day. Or Operation Flashpoint if i want the opposite. Or any one of the many, many other games. Probably something from Games on Demand to clear some hard drive space actually - Metro 2033, GTA IV, Max Payne 3 or Prototype.

Well I've downloaded F1 Stars for free as I have a Playstation plus account, after playing the demo I certainly wouldn't part money for it. The thing about it is that the gqame is soooo lame and you're right about how they rip you off with all the DLC. Atleast MArio Kart is quite fun (atleast it was up until GameCube) but F1 race stars is just so shite I can't even find the motivation to describe why!

Surprised about Portal 2 I absolutely loved it, though I hadn't played Portal 1, loved the dialogue the robots are well funny. Try playing Portal 2 in multiplayer, it is soooo much fun. And Glados has a whole new dialogue set for the multiplayer so still enjoyable and amusing.

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minus Vettel

I agree about Mario Kart. I loved Super Mario Kart. I got Mario Kart 64 with my N64 and played it to death. Double Dash was the best of them all though. The co-op driving thing worked amazingly well. I used to love splitscreen too. Nothing like using their screen to aim so you can fire a green shell backwards to hit them.

To clarify for others, what I think the problem with the DLC for F1 stars is - you get about half the tracks of the f1 championship in the game. then you have to pay for the other half. Can you imagine buying F1 2013 and only getting half the tracks? It is just another excuse to make money. Sure, you don't need to buy them, but this is a clear cut case of removign stuff to sell for later. It is the double edged sword of the digital gaming age. Sure, we can get expansions added to our console games, but we also have games where they take chunks out so they can sell you another chunk later.



Is it couch coop? I have a coop buddy but we only play couch, not over xbox live. Plus, we only have one copy without some trickery. I'd play it in coop, maybe it will be like Gears of War - okay in single player, freakin' fantastic in coop.

I didn't like the demo, but borrowed it from a friend and really enjoyed it after a few hours play. I rhad racked up about 20 hours play when I gave it back a week later! Online play in fun, plus you can tweek the options to make it more arcadey or more serious racer as you like. Plus, despite all the complaints about the damage and pit system I got to grips with quite quickly and don't see it as a problem in gameplay terms really. What does annoy me is th fact you only get 11 tracks and need to pay extra for more, I think it's about £3.59 per track! Which is exorbitant! Having said that, I wouldn't want to pay more about £10 at mist for it and only played it cause my friend had a copy.

EDIT: it does seem from everyone comments we're all n agreement regarding it's price and expensive DLC.

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

A quick question as well. I've seen a few say Mario kart went shit after double dash, not just madman and mac-d. The only Mario kart I've not played is 7 on the ds and really enjoyed the first ds and wii games, i was just wondering what peoples views are on why they think the franchise went downhill?

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

MK7 is perfectly good. Ground breaking, maybe not, as whole lot of fun though.

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Going to Spa? Check out my site. http://visit-spa-francorchamps.page.tl/
My own Google Earth Motor Sport file. http://www.mediafire.com/?jzm1ieatytv
Follow me @asphalt_world
Oh and Bernie, National flags should be raised not flipped. Sort it!

There's an option to change how early the co-driver tells you instructions if you need to hear them earlier (at least on ps3 there is).
I did find there was no cancel once a sound sample starts, so if you rub a wall the co-driver tells you to watch it, but won't tell you the directions for the next corner if you get there before he's finished telling you to stop taking the paint off the sides of the car.

I also was a bit confused by the menu inputs, but glad to know it's not my wheel on the blink.

Also there's a truly truly awful stage in Spain that starts with two hairpins and a water crossing that is doing my head in. I hate it with a passion.

Thanks for the tip, I'll see if I can find the timing option on the pc version as well!

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Räikkönen - Vettel - Rosberg - Bottas

Both offline and online, but I definitely recommend playing along side someone on a couch, makes he experience way better. I've missed offline multiplayer in this generation of gaming, online is too impersonal and not my cup of tea usually.

Minchy, I'm not sure but I think as a franchise MArio Kart is still doing well (Ninetendo have a really loyal fanbase). MArio Kar Wii didn't really impress me, sure it was nice having way more competitors in races but the tracks seemed too long (like on F1 stars) and the interface was poor. Balancing the Wiimote to steer has always sucked on any type of racing game plus to get any sort of precision you had to invest in a num-chuck, but even then the whole racing setup just feels wrong with the Wiimote.

The game cube had a much more conventional controller which suits these games well as that's what they were first developed on. I'#m sure a MArio KArt U will be on its way though.

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minus Vettel

Did anyone get tortured at school by the BBC Micro and Granny's Garden.

I did. In about 1993 or 94. Tonight, this very night... I finished it.

I must say, as a game aimed at children that young, it does have a very hard moment in there. If you got it by dumb luck, fine. But to work it out was actually a challenge. Seriously. Took me with a pen and paper to crack it. And it is fake difficulty in that so many things will just kill you instantly with no way to know.

On a worrying side note, not finishing that (I was in class 4, so the last class to get to use it) has bugged me a worryingly large amount for almost 20 years. Well, that a strong word but I have thought back to it. I'm really oddly happy about finishing it.

Holy s**t mac_d! They still used granny's garden in 93-94? I remember playing in about 87-88! By 93 I we were playing doom in the science department at lunch time! It's always nice having teachers who appreciate games too.

But full credit to you, I never remember finishing it. I might download it and try it again now!

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

Yeah, we had it when I was in early Primary School, so I was about 5 or 6, so 93 or 94 is about right. However, you know what is worse? We had one used to demonstrate radioactive decay in 2004 in our standard grade physics class! Seriously, BBC micro used at one the top Scottish schools in 2004. (I'm leaving myself open to a joke about Scottish education there...)

@ Alien - yeah they are weird about it aren't they? I was on their website and they wanted £35 for it! As much as a brand new videogame costs now! And as you say, nearly all the other BBC micro games, as well as the appropriate stuff for running an emulator has lapsed in copyright.

I just want to say, it was remarkably good fun. In all honesty, a great night and one I won't want to forget ever.

I'm guessing I'm about 6 years older than you as I think I played it when I was 5 or 6 as well. I just thought they'd cone up with an Archimedes or PC version by then. But there's nothing wrong with using BBC computers in the 90's, my dad used his for finances and work years after getting a new machine, just cause they're so user friendly.

Looking at aliens comment though, I don't think I'll be paying to play it so will have to miss out

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

I just googled Granny's Garden.... the graphics are sooo poor, who'd want to play that?

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minus Vettel

No-one! It was forced onto us at school in the 80's
But that's one of the reasons that people of my generation aren't as bothered about graphics as you youngsters, look what we grew up with!

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There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris allows to live.

What the heck is Granny's Garden?

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Jenson Button Fan.

That looks like a truly shocking game

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Jenson Button Fan.

It's not a bad little puzzle game. It is important to remember that the entire game is 50 kilobytes. A blank word document is more than half that size. For the time, it looks decent imo. It's basically block-art, but you can tell what everything is generally and that's all that is required.

In some ways, I pity the younger generation who have always played on Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 or later consoles. They will never get the same awe as I got when first playing Super Mario 64 after years of Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario World (both pretty games for their time anyway). I still remember the first time I played Super Mario 64. For puzzle games, more than any other game type graphics aren't that important. For a creepy game, they can be vital (imo why Resident Evil on GC was a lot better than Resident Evil on PSX). Thankfully, I generally have a blindspot of graphics. A lot of games I haven't really noticed poor graphics until they have been pointed out in screenshots or gameplay to me.

So yeah, the graphics stink, and if the game wasn't so brutally hard (as in, single mistake and you start over) it'd be done insanely quickly. But it is still quite fun. I have literally played current games that are much less fun. Speaking of which, I was playing Legendary on the 360 last night. Game absolutulyy stinks. Needless to say, I have removed it from my backlog list and decided I will never finish it. It honestly doesn't deserve my time.

My first memories of gaming are the N64, I still remember the first time I ran onto hyrule field in Ocarina Of Time, just the sheer scale of it was impressive and still is now, I haven't played he N64 version since I got the 3DS version of the game simply for the fact that I have OoT on a portable system that can be played anytime and anywhere. The same goes for Mario 64, truly a great game which I feel still plays better than a lot of games now.

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Jenson Button Fan.

my first memorys of gaming was playing some F1 racing game(i assume it was F1) on the Atari with my dad! loved that console, but then got the mega drive which was classic!