This week I have been mostly playing... (4)

Its been a hectic week what with moving house and starting my final year at University so understandably my gaming time has been at a bit of a minimum. Never the less I have found time to play a couple of games.



Ring of Red
PS 2

I mentioned this title in the top 5 Mecha games post and have been playing it quite a bit since we moved back to London. It's a nice turn based strategy game with simple real time combat controls.
As a side note, this year I have a final year project I have to complete for University. For some reason I am drawn to this game as a possible source of material. watch this space...



Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu
Arcade

Recently installed in my local arcade. this shmup is slowly beginning to grow on me. Typically for a game by Cave the amounts of enemy firepower on screen are ridiculous but seems fairly well matched by the amount of firepower your tiny craft seems to have. The amount of satisfaction you feel after building up your power bar and letting rip with a hyper attack is fantastic. Anyone visiting London in the near future should try and get a visit to Casino Arcade if just play this game.

Cave looking to go global

The Japanese bullet hell game producing company Cave have announced that they are looking to release more of their back catalogue as well as new games in the west.

In an interview with Kotaku, Caves general manager Makato Asada stated he was looking into using services such as Xbox Live and Valves Steam as possible distribution methods.

To shmup fans in the west this is big news. Up until now Cave games and other modern shmups distribution was almost non existent in the west. Quite often if you wanted to play these titles it meant importing the Japanese hardware it ran on but with the imminent release of Caves Mushihime-sama Futari as a region free title on Xbox 360 later his year it looks like things could be about to change. Although players will probaby still have to import the game from Japan it will run on a Xbox 360 from any region.

Again in an another article on Kotaku, Makato Asada explains:

"We had a lot of good feedback from overseas users So for this time, as a test, we're going to make the game region free so that overseas users can play it."

Lets hope that this all goes well for Cave and we see more bullet hell titles here in the west

A Visit to Casino Arcade and the Trocadero

This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting up with some friends at the notorious Casino Arcade on Londons Tottenham Court Road. Recently some new shmups had been installed that we all wanted to play.

Now shmups (or shoot-em-ups) is a genre that has had it's day. At one time names like Raiden, R-Type and Gradius were as well known as the 2D fighting games Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and King of Fighters. How times have changed.

During the 16-bit era, shmups were as common as first person shooters are today and it was these very games that truly pushed the capabilities of home systems but the advent of 3D saw the trusty shmup fall out of favour with all but a hardcore following in the west. However all was not lost as in Japan a number of companies continued to produce shooters as each new generation of consoles came and went. It was games by one of these companies; Cave, that I had gone to Casino Arcade to play. The legendary Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu and Death Smiles. Myself and my friends had a great few hours playing these games and we even met a few new fans of the genre so a successful day was had by all. Near the end of the day the few of us that were left wandered into the Trocadero to watch one of our number complete the lightgun game Ghost Squad on its highest difficulty (just because he can!). I also managed a couple of sneaky credits of Ferrari F355 Challenge and an old irem shmup i can never remember the name of.

I love arcades, the few true arcades that are left should be treasured by all, for it was in this environment that the hobby we love was born. To truly experience the social aspect of gaming never mind Xbox Live or the PSN it is in the few remaining arcades that have weekly fighter competitions or where the few shmup fans left gather to play the latest Cave games or where can be found men in their forties still attempting to beat high scores that have eluded them for 25 years.


Here is a Link to the videos made of SMRAEDIS's Almost perfect run of Ghost Squad filmed by Chi.

This week I have been mostly playing...(3)

Eve Online
PC

This MMO is still absorbing large chunks of my life. My corporation is moving systems at the moment so most of what is going on is of a logistical nature but I still find myself utterly fascinated by this carefully crafted money sink. (As I am playing this most weeks now this wil probably be the last time it appears in my This week thread as I'm sure it will get boring).


Forza III Demo
Xbox 360

I couldn't wait to try the demo for Forza III as I am a great fan of its predecessor. I wasn't disappointed, beautiful graphics and a sublime physics engine make this a must buy purchase for me when it arrives later this year.


Truxton
Megadrive (Gens+)

I'm Still playing this beauty of a shmup and for some reason I prefer the Megadrive version over the original arcade. It just seems slightly more forgiving than the arcade version and this is important if you are a shmup newb like myself.

MCT's Top 5 Mecha Games

What could be more fun than driving around in a giant robot killing everything in sight? That right very little. So it makes me quite sad that as a whole the Mecha genre has never held the position I feel it deserves here in the west. Despite this I have decided to list my favourite Mech games. They are listed in the dates that they were released (this is also roughly in the order that I played them too) not in a best to worst kind of way as I honestly couldn't pick a favourite out of these five. I hope this inspires some of you to try these games out if you haven't already.


MechWarrior 3
PC 1999
Microprose really came up with the goods on this game. Set during the Clan wars you play as a Lance commander stuck behind enemy lines with limited support. Despite this, you and your Lance are still expected to complete your objectives as well as some other unit that failed to survive the orbital drop. This is a fantastic game. Of all the Mechwarrior games I have played, the basics of MechWarrior 3 are the closest in execution to the boardgame (Battletech) that the MechWarrior series is based on. The mission design is good and varied and the Mech customisation options are extensive if a little to literal to the boardgame rules.


Ring of Red
PS 2 2001 (Eu)
Part turn based strategy, part real time strategy. The gameplay of this game is unlike any other I have played. Set in an alternate history in the 1960's, the Mechs in this game are more like walking WWII tanks than the supersonic transforming Mecha usually found in Japanese games and this makes them all the more lovable. If you can find this gem I truly recommend picking it up. A fun interesting and unique game.

MechWarrior IV Mercenaries
PC 2002
Putting you in full control of not just one but two mercenary Mech Lances during the Fedcom Civil War, this game (the last in the series as it stands) was brilliant. Not needing quite as much familiarity with the source material as other games in the series it made for a very accessible and absorbing game play without getting bogged down in the nitty gritty of building your Mechs. Every PC gamer should have this one.

Chromehounds
Xbox360 2006
I bought this game for £8 in a bargain bin a couple of years ago and it was one of my best bargain bin finds ever. Created by From software; the Japanese company responsible for the Armored Core series. For their first next gen title they decided to try something a little different. instead of the superfast flying Mecha found in the AC series we instead get slightly futuristic walking Mecha tanks. Vast customisation options, atmospheric battles and a fantastic persistant online campaign. made this one of the hidden gems on the Xbox360.

Armored Core For Answer
Xbox 360 2008
Imagine the kind of scene common in Mecha Anime, giant robots flying around at high speed fighting even bigger robots in apocalyptic battles with laser and tracer fire lighting up the sky as explosions rock the ground and buildings crumble. Now imagine the perfect videogame recreation of this scenario. Got it? You have just imagined Armored Core For Answer. This game is worth it just for the Spirit of Motherwill battle alone. Good Stuff!

This week I have been mostly playing...(2)

Pokemon Pearl Version
Nintendo DS
Gotta catch em all gotta.... you get the idea. I picked this up earlier in the week after a trip to Gloucester and its perfect for filling in the occasional idle moment. Its light roleplaying elements and simple battle system keep you coming back for more. However I would say that the touch screen elements are a little half arsed. Maybe this was fixed in the diamond edition.








Forza Motorsport 2
Xbox 360
With all the buzz around at the moment about Forza 3s immanent arrival. I decided to polish up my driving skills ready for the new game. It reminded me that Forza 3 has hell of a reputation to live up to. Still my favourite Racing simulation of all time.






Truxton/Tatsujin
Arcade (Mame) and Sega Megadrive (Gens+)
A classic shooter form the now defunct Toaplan. Devilishly difficult but highly addictive. This game and its sequel are well worth checking out if you are into your 2D shooters. It has a cool electro soundtrack too! I have become so impressed with this game that I'm going to try and pick up the original game for my trusty old Megadrive.








SWIV
Commodore 64 (WinVICE)
After some discussion on a forum I frequent about the Amiga version of this game, I decided to revisit this old classic on the older C64. Back in the day myself and my friend Olly used to spend hours playing this game and to be honest I think it has aged rather well for a Commodore 64 shooter.

A Succesful Haul in Gloucester

I had a brief trip into Gloucester city centre today and treated myself to a few tasty videogame purchases. Gloucester is a great place to visit as there are plenty places to pick up cheap videogames if you don't mind hunting around (I find that half the fun).

First Stop was R-Games, a dedicated Retro games store on Westgate street. They have loads of old 8-bit and 16-bit console games as well as the consoles for sale all at a reasonable price as well as the newer stuff. It is retro freak heaven!
anyway I came away with Pokemn Pearl Edition for the DS and the 2D shooter Gunbird (by Psikyo) for PS2.


I then had a mooch around the second hand shops on Northgate street, One of them had a special offer on their PS2 games (£1.50 each!) so I had to pick up a couple at least. I came away with copies of the classic 2D fighting game Guilty Gear X and a fantastic find of (Strikers) 1945 I & II!


All that and I still got change out of £15!