End of year gaming wrap up!

There’s no doubt that 2009 was a great year for gaming.  Well, if you discount the summer of course (June – September were somewhat barren).  The hot months of this past year were bereft of quality retail games, instead focussing more on the arcade games of both Xbox Live and the PlayStation network.  Despite this, a large number of games were released during the year, so whittling a top ten, in order, is no hard task.

A note about the list

As regulars to the blog will know, I only play Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and a tiny bit of DS (not represented in this particular list) so if you don’t find your cute, wave- arms-in-the-air Wii game or why-so-serious PC RTS here then it’s because I haven’t played them.

The list is also restricted by games that I have actually played, so there are likely to be some omissions.  This is down a lack of time and, moreover, a lack of funds.

The list

10. Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

While not quite up to the standards of the seminal, world conquering, inspired friggin’ EVERYTHING THAT WENT AFTER Resident Evil 4, Resi 5 still showed that there was much life left in the old dog.  Yes, the focus was more on shooting than on actual survival and, truth be told, it wasn’t that scary but Resi 5’s strengths lay in sheer atmosphere, great presentation and the introduction of co-op gameplay.   The real strength however lay in the seminal boss fights which never grew stale.  In an age where bosses are either on the brink of parody or non existant, it’s refreshing to see them implemented in such an original and entertaining way.

09. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360, PC)

It’s worth mentioning from the off that this game would be a lot higher in the list had it not been for the release of the original Left 4 Dead last year.  Left 4 Dead 2 may do very little different from its predecessor and, in fact, probably could have been released at lower price through downloadable content, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that this is still pretty much a must have in your gaming collection.  The sense of urgency has been ramped up due to some fine level design and dynamic, atmospheric changes (weather affects the gameplay massively) and better characters that you actually, kind of, relate to.  Yes, this is the same game as last year given a minimal rethink, but it’s still one of the most fun things that you can do with friends, either across the room or across the world.

08. Killzone 2 (PlayStation 3)

Something that I’m on my own with here – I loved the first Killzone game.  Guns that pack punches and enemies that look like the bastard children of Nazis and Storm Troopers was always going to be an easy sell.  And the second game in the series is fantastic.  Yes, it’s rather light of story (and even that is clumsily told) and yes, even I was disappointed with the lack of secondary fire from the guns,  but it’s still a blast from start to finish.  Only a fool would not mention the stunning graphics and level design but less mentioned are the quality enemy AI and gameplay variety.  It also features one of the most varied multiplayer sections of any FPS that I can mention, which simply adds a lovely, juicy cherry onto an already mouthwatering pudding.

07. Shadow Complex (Xbox Live Arcade)

Far be it for me to criticise, but when the XBLA starts outshining retail games in both terms of quality and style, then the industry could be in trouble.  In a summer besmirched with half baked ideas and mis-steps, it was left to developer Chair and the might  of Epic to release this stunning side scrolling shooter.  The game is a flash back to the halcion days of yore, but it is so much more than that. The game itself can be beaten in under 4 hours without breaking much of a sweat, but those that want to explore (which is deeply rewarding) will find that the overall experience at least doubles in time.  The game design is such that it never grows stale or uninteresting and everything about it just feels right.  And all at a fraction of the cost of a retail game?  Sounds too good to be true but isn’t.

06. Infamous (PlayStation 3)

Although this fell victim to being released at the same time as Prototype, a game with a remarkably similar premise, this rightly deserves it’s place in the top 10.  Sucker Punch has given us not only a tight gameplay experience with a satisfying story and deep characters, it has given rise to the best original universe this side of Dead Space.  Okay, so the much hyped good/evil choices that the character had to make were a little too black and white and the graphics could have used a little more polish (especially considering this is a PS3 exclusive), but these are small complaints indeed compared with the game as a whole.  On a purely fun basis, this was about as much as I had with a game all year.

05. Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)

This choice is pretty much irrelevant as, no doubt, anyone reading this has undoubtedly bought and played it, and become a much higher multilayer rank than me.   Although the game features some of the best FPS action that I have ever played, looks amazing, has the excellent Spec Ops mode and has improved upon the mulitplayer – one of the best in gaming – considerably, I can’t help but wish that they had gone further.  More single player would have been nice.  Retaining the grit of CoD 4’s story rather than descending into clumsily told, Joel Silver produced tripe would have been even nicer.  But in spite of these disappointments, the game still plays better than the vast majority and is still a balls-to-the-wall experience that you would be mad to miss.

04. The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)

For those that have a hatred of The Beatles and all that they did, please stop reading now and skip to #3.  Because, somewhat obviously from the title, one must have at least a fondness for the Fab Four to get anything out of this game.  But if you have, then my word you are in for a treat.  Die hards from the previous Rock Bands and Guitar Heroes may say that this is too easy and limited for them, but I say nonsense.  For this is not a game about massively difficult challenges and proving that you are the most hardcore drummer on your street.  This is purely about enjoying the glorious, beautiful music of The Beatles in an interactive environment.  And that, for me, is enough.  The graphics are not so much great as they are deeply touching, both with faithful recreations of live sets and magical interpretations of later, studio bound songs.  But best of all is the sound, all coming from the recently remastered albums.  It’s so good it’s emotional.

03. Assassin’s Creed 2 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

I knew from the off that this would be a better game than the first game in the series (which showed vast potential but offered not much more than repetition) but I was shocked as to how much.  Renaissance Italy is much more of a colourful and vibrant place than the Middle East in the 12th Century, and Ezio is a much more rounded and likeable character than Altiar ever was.  But, even taken as it’s own merits, Assassin’s Creed 2 is easily one of the year’s very best.  There is so much variety in gameplay that it’s dizzying, the plot is revealed at a slow, deliberate pace that effortlessly makes the player buy into the story that it portrays and the game looks and sounds beautiful.  So yes, the bits set in the present still fall short of the bits set in the past and yes, Danny Wallace, much as I like him, is pretty annoying as Shaun, but given the overall scope  that there is (and improvement over the first game), these things fade into obscurity as soon as you see the next city from a viewpoint and think of all the things you can do within it.

02. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

Truth be told, I would have liked this to have the top spot on this list.  As a Batman fan, the idea of having a game that is not just good but awesome and that features a faithful representation of the greater Batman universe is still, even after months since release, a buttock-clenching cause of excitement.  The game’s use of exploration saw parallels to the mighty Bioshock, the story was cutting edge and biting and the casting (including Mark Hamill as The Joker) is stunning.  And in spite of this, the overall experience was greater than these individual experiences.  Pre-release I expected to be disappointed, on reading reviews I expected to be greatly entertained, but in actual fact I was amazed by the quality of every single aspect of this game.  A must have for gamers, a vital requirement for Batman fans, a delight for those who are both.

01. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PlayStation 3)

When I was nine years old,  I really wanted a NES.  I thought, due to me making a mistake when flicking through the Argos catalogue, that it would enable me to directly control a movie at my will.  Of course, when I got one for my 10th birthday, I was surprised that Mario didn’t actually look like a real plumber.  “Don’t be silly,” said my best friend, “games just aren’t like that”.

This may have been true at the time, but, after playing Uncharted 2, it’s clear that this simply isn’t the case anymore.  To say that Uncharted 2’s strength comes from the graphics (which are possibly the best ever seen) is selling the overall presentation short somewhat – it’s how developer Naughty Dog has implemented these into the gameplay.  The transition from cutscene to gameplay is seamless, and is actually used within the mechanics that the player enjoys oh so much when playing.

In a world where linear games are seen as a negative and games try to provide choice over cohesive story, Uncharted 2 proves in watertight style that there is life left in linearity yet.  Perhaps this will be seen as the swansong for this traditional  style of games or maybe it will revive developers desire for traditional story over choice.  One thing is certain.  Uncharted 2 is not just the best game of 2009, it’s one of the very best games of the past 10 years.

This week in gaming…

…I have bought and played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and it has made me think about the political and social stance of games developers.

There are two ways of looking at Infinity Ward’s attitude towards global conflict. The first is that it is a group of gung-ho patriots who have a warped Glenn Beck-esque attitude that war is an important thing because it keeps everyone in line and keeps America (and maybe the rest of the rich west) free. The second, and the one that I think is more accurate (at least, I hope) is that Infinity Ward is actually anti war, seeing various military actions as being unnecessary and being more about greed and pride than about genuine interests. War is, it would seem, only good for the subject matter of video games.

What Infinity Ward has done with Modern Warfare 2, its latest globe conquering offering, is something that not too many high profile developers have dared do – take the fight to the US mainland. Even a non American can sense the weight that this carried – rather than just fighting in miscellaneous East European and Middle Eastern towns (which are no strangers to conflict) you will be battling in everytown USA (in West Virginia), along the National Mall in Washington D.C. and even through the White House itself.

Taken at face value, this would undoubtedly support the first theory of the developer’s stance on war. There is a section where you clearly overhear one of your fellow infantrymen say, with bitter resentment in his voice, “That’s the Capital Building, man!”, as he watches it being mercilessly shelled. I am in no doubt that many less informed, possibly right wing gamers who play will strive for an extra keen eye to take down this wave of foreign scum who dared breach the borders and deal this kind of treatment to America and its people. Yes, they will think, this is why we went into Iraq and Afghanistan – to stop this from happening.

But I think that Infinity Ward is cleverer than this. Because it’s all about context. The first level in the game sees a battalion of US Army Rangers fighting their way through the streets of anytown Afghanistan. Buildings get pock marked with bullet fire and grenades. The fight even goes directly through a school, with children’s work strewn across the floor and brightly coloured murals displayed on the walls. It’s stuff that we have seen on the news countless time. So many times in fact that we have become immune to it. I feel that this is the point that Infinity Ward is making.

We forgive ourselves when fighting through dusty streets that are alien to us yet feel strongly about things when they hit a little closer to home. The fact is that whether the fight is fought in Anytown Afghanistan or Anytown USA the result is the same – innocents die, livelihoods jeopardised and normal life ceases to function. It matters not whether this affects a spice trading Muslim or a law practising Methodist, it is a futile waste. What Infinity Ward appear to be doing is showing people the effects of war in terms that are obvious. It s backed up by the use of (admittedly pretentious) quotations whenever the player is killed. One sticks in the mind more than any other, said by Ghandi, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”.

Say what you will about the relevance of video games but one cannot deny that this is a bold stance that will be seen by a great many people. For all of the lobbyists and naysayers who think that gaming is going to be the corruptible downfall of all that is right and good (Jack Thompson and Keith Vaz, take note) there are intelligent and responsible games developers out there who will rightly challenge the world out there is a powerful and dynamic way.

And the game is pretty decent too.

A Boy and His Bat – My Life With Batman

My love affair with the Batman (or The Dark Knight to give him his more modern moniker) started, strangely, not within the bustling streets of some neo-metropolis but in the relative tranquility of Devon. I was eight years old and on a family holiday. We rented a house in the tiny village of Tipton St John (so small that it did not appear on any of the Ordinance Survey maps that we had brought along for the trip) and went sight seeing in such places of postcard beauty as Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary and Cricket St Thomas. Though very nice there was little there for me to be truly excited about. In fact, the only things that really stick out in my memory of the trip are the collection of the Readers Digest from the 1970s, buying a loaf of “toasting” bread and my brother, Simon, not only losing his recent purchase of a rare poster in a public toilet in Lyme Regis, but it still being there when he collected it later. The holiday was nice, fun, relaxing, but uneventful.

When driving back we decided to go to Exeter. Now, Exeter is not a city in the modern sense of the word, it’s more of a twee but large town that just happens to hold the cathedral that gives it city status. It has more in common with Ely or Canterbury than London or Manchester. While we were there, my brother, Paul, decided that we were going to go shopping and that he was going to buy me something for a fiver. Paul was the kind of brother that I loved and hated in equal measure. Once he told me that I was the “hardest” person in the world and then proceeded to beat me up, telling me that I wasn’t to cry because I was the hardest person in the world. But on other occasions he would buy me things, spend time with me when no-one else would and openly showed me his porn collection. This was one of those times.

As I was eight years old and clearly a man of the world, I decided that it was time to customise my bedroom and concluded that it was a poster I wanted. Paul told me that this was ideal, posters then (and still do) come in at under a fiver, so I was well away. To the nearest Our Price (RIP) we went quick smart. The posters on the whole did not do much for me. Too old for the cutesy cartoon ones and too young to understand the smut – there was nothing much on offer for me. Then one came into view that I simply had to have.

It showed a man dressed in black, standing next to an equally black car. The car was unlike anything that I had seen before, looking like the land speed record car, Thrust II, but infinitely more mysterious and sexy. The man in black was dressed with a cape and cowl. The cowl had ears on it, a ridiculous notion even for me at that age, but that didn’t matter. This man was the coolest thing that I had ever seen. I had to have it. Paul smiled and said “Oh, so you like Batman now do you?” and told me that there was loads of Batman around at the moment because there was a film coming out. I’d heard all I needed to. I bought the poster, which took pride of place on my wall.

The problem was that the Batman movie was certified a 12 certificate by the BBFC (the first ever film to be given the new rating, although I remember it being Gremlins 2) which meant that I had no chance of getting into the cinema to see it. Sure, I was a tall child, but not even I could pass for a child almost twice the age that I was. The hype surrounding the film was amazing. These days you seem to get this every summer when the next blockbuster comes out, but back then this was a new thing. Batman was everywhere, and I was loving it. The Lateshopper round the corner from my house even started stocking the fortnightly Batman comic, which I duly bought weekly (one to read and one to cut up and put on my wall in a mad DC Comics collage). It really didn’t matter that I wasn’t going to get to see the film any time soon. None of my friends were either, so all was well with the world.

In the October of 1989 I went on another family holiday, this time to Florida. This was more my kind of thing with theme parks and sunshine and crazy golf on a scale that Britain would have scarcely believed. In the Sunshine State I also bought a load of Batman collectors cards (that came with revolting chewing gum that one ate out of propriety rather than for enjoyment) which showed snapshots from the film. I was also bought, from my parents who were keen for me to have an interest, a making of the film book.

When I returned from this holiday I was the envy of all my friends because, although the Batman cards were available in Britain, they were substantially smaller than the ones that I had brought back from the states. However, my upper hand was quickly slapped away when my best friend, Chris, managed to get himself a pirate copy of the movie on video. This was something so great that it really didn’t matter who had what, it just mattered that we had it. The quality was terrible. In an age now where we can download high definition movies from the internet and pirating is as simple as ripping and burning to and from a media player, it is easy to forget just what pirates used to be like. Memories of my brothers trying to hook up two video players to record from one to the other and fusing the house out still sit in my memory. The Batman that we watched had a snowy picture that was bad even for video, sound that kept dipping in and out and a continual hiss that bore into your head like a subliminal message. But none of that mattered. We had seen the film that meant everything to us and we fucking loved it. Batman did not disappoint us.

Sadly the fad of Batman was pretty short lived. Within a year the posters had come down, to be replaced by Teenage Mutant Hero (or Ninja) Turtles, a god awful effort that combined mutant, ninja skilled turtles with crime in the rough back alleys of New York. But hey, I was young and impressionable then. But, unlike my friends, I kept believing in Batman as a hero and kept pining for more. Sadly for me, the only fix that I could get in the short time after the initial hype was the camp and really rather lame TV show from the 1960s. Sure, Batman was at least effeminate and at most, gay, the Joker was not scary and more of a prankster rather than a master criminal and Robin, well, was awful, it still kept the flames of excitement burning.

Unknown to me, in the years before the movie, Batman had been seen as a bit of a joke. In comic book circles he was regarded as an archetype for how superheroes simply should not be. Then came Frank Miller, whose comic series, The Dark Knight Returns, marked not only a return for Batman and made him more frightening and applicable to the cause and struggle of decent, hard working people than anyone before him. And, if Miller’s fantastic comic wasn’t enough to cement Batman’s reputation back into the forefront of the superhero alumni, then Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke did. Moore, possibly the most revered and influential of the modern day comic book writers, gave us the origin story of the Joker in a brilliant but brief story that provided enough inspiration for Tim Burton to make the Batman movie. My time was truly a great time to get into Batman.

Of course, at the time, non of this mattered a hoot to me. I was waiting with baited breath for the new Batman movie, Batman Returns, to be released. When I finally saw it I was both delighted and disappointed all at once. I thought that the places where Burton’s second movie were far darker and scarier than the original but I was in love with the Joker so it simply wasn’t as good. As if Batman movies mapped out my life, I then went to secondary school and forgot all about Batman for 3 years.

My parents separated when I was 14 and I spent a lot of time with my dad, who, though working abroad for a lot of the time, always made efforts for us to do things together when he was around. One of these things was a trip to the cinema to see the new Batman flick, Batman Forever. I was dubious but hopeful about this before going – I had by that time developed a knowledge of films and film-makers and knew that the change of a director could do huge things to a movie franchise. I thought at the time that Batman Forever was great, I loved the new, vibrant Gotham City, I thought that Two-Face was a villain that almost rivaled the Joker, I thought that Nicole Kidman was gorgeous and, although annoyed by his inclusion, empathised with Dick Grayson/Robin’s loss of parents and readjustment into another way of life. Looking back, my parent’s divorce probably gave me more in common with Robin than I then realised.

Of course, with my 25 years old hindsight I now know that the film is a stuffed turkey of a movie, a movie that, although better than its follow up, Batman and Robin, almost put Batman back in the doldrums laid out by 60s TV show. Yes, I thought that the look and gadgets were cool at the time, but they were totally in contradiction to what Batman stood for. After all, he is not known as The Neon Knight.

My interest in Batman waned after seeing Batman Forever. I have never seen (or will see) Batman and Robin on sheer principal and, having left school, been to college, loafed around and got myself a career, I didn’t seem to have a place in life for Batman. I had learned a lot about films and found my favourite era of movie to be the 1970s, where cities were socially dubious and grimy and the protagonists were all anti-heroes, trying to clean up the city in which they lived their way. I especially loved the movies Taxi Driver and Serpico. This is not to say that I lived in the past. One of the best films that I had seen in a long while was Memento, directed by British new hot-shot Christopher Nolan. To see a movie that was not about a character but about memory loss as a psychological condition was both refreshing and terrifying. Nolan was clearly a director to watch. He next movie, Insomnia, dealt again with what a lack of sleep will do to the mind rather than focus on character relationships and developments with equally (though more understated) consequences.

We were now in the new millennium. Some riveted by the new century, some pleased or disappointed that the world hadn’t come to an end, but most of us were bored. In this new millennium, film makers seemed to give the superhero a new lease of life. Sam Raimi’s take on Spiderman made $100 million dollars faster than any movie before it. Then 9/11 happened changing everything that we take for granted in our lives. And once again, the world felt like it needed heroes. Suddenly there was a plethora of these, all new sub-genre of movies. And they had some decent directors too, notably Bryan Singer (the wunderkind behind The Usual Suspects) and his take on the X-Men. Elsewhere there were films made of Daredevil, Blade (although the original was pre 2000), The Punisher, Hellboy and, more recently, Superman.

I was working as a Christmas Temp in HMV when I first heard of Batman Begins. Not all that surprisingly there were a few movie geeks that worked there and I fell in with them and we got to talking about superhero movies. Spiderman 2 had just come out on DVD and I said that, although I thought that the film was okay, Spiderman didn’t do anything for me as a superhero. Too clean cut. Too hormonal. Too keen to please his dead uncle. Allen, the then deputy manager, agreed with me. He said that the new Batman movie was going to be the one to watch. Ha, I thought, I’ve been burned before. But then he told me why it was going to be good. Firstly, it was to be a origin story and have no connection to any of the previous movies. And, more importantly, it was going to be directed by Christopher Nolan.

That night I remember having a rather one sided conversation with my girlfriend about how much I was looking forward to seeing the new Batman movie. But he’s not Spiderman, she had told me. But how did she know how I once felt about Batman? Especially with Christopher Nolan, the psychological director, in charge of proceedings. I was as excited about this as I was about any other film in my life, aside from Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion when I had a massive crush on Lisa Kudrow. Things about the film just got better and better. Liam Neeson was going to be in it, as was Gary Oldman, playing Sergeant James Gordon. Even Michael Caine was in it, playing Alfred Pennyworth. Excitement grew even more when I discovered that Christian Bale was going to play Bruce Wayne/Batman. Forget all that sentimental stuff he did when a younger man (Little Women) – Christian Bale was hotting up to be one of the great action stars. He looked and acted right. The only problem was that he hadn’t actually been in anything all that good in an action role. Reign of Fire was okay, but nothing to write home about.

Batman Begins had so much potential that it was almost guaranteed to disappoint, mainly because no film can be that good. But I was wrong. Batman Begins was not only the best Batman movie by far at the time and the best superhero movie ever made but it’s one of the finest action adventure films of all time. Everything about the movie is more or less perfect. Nolan uses his gift of psychological direction to give the movie another disorder – phobia. Nolan skilfully remembers that Bruce Wayne does not love bats, in fact, he’s terrified of them, and it’s this fear that he manages to harness and draw strength from. It makes perfect sense that what scares the shit out of Bruce Wayne is going to paralysis anyone else with fear. Batman Begins also follows many of the long forgotten (or at least long ignored) sides of Wayne – he is a genius who crafts many of the gadgets himself, he has to act the foolish playboy in public so that people do not suspect him of being The Dark Knight. The movie also recognises that Batman is not a man but a symbol and pays homage to the group of people who keep this symbol alive. For the first time on screen we see Alfred as an equal rather than subordinate, we meet Lucious Fox of Wayne Enterprises and believe James Gordon to be a true friend, not foe of Batman.

I watched the film with such delight that when I finished watching it I sat and watched it again. Even sat here writing about it I feel an urge to put on it and enjoy it’s brilliance. My love affair with Batman was back on and it was stronger than ever.

The great thing was that I was, for the first time in my life, socially and financially free to pursue whatever interests that I had. Before, I had been very dismissive of graphic novels (thinking that the term graphic novel was very pretentious. I mean, they’re just comic books surely?) and would not have dreamed of admitting that I liked something as juvenile as a superhero. But then I figured that happiness never really grows up. I began reading the graphic novels/comic books that has been recommended to me by the good readers of Amamzon.co.uk and other relevant websites. The two works by Frank Miller that I read (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One) had a great effect on me and revealed Batman to not be the all conquering hard ass that I thought he had been previously, but being a vulnerable and insecure man who drives himself more on an unhealthy urge to validate himself rather than do the good of the people. I also read Jeph Loeb’s Long Halloween, which again gave a huge insight into Batman’s feelings of the city that he loves, and the criminals that he must encounter in it.

Yes, I had grown up. I managed to feel excited by The Dark Knight without having the need to sleep under a duvet with the Bat Symbol on it or eat my sandwiches from the Official Batman Lunchbox. And I’m quite happy with this. I am still in need of my heroes. I see the world as a scary place where no-one trusts anyone else and it’s seemingly only a matter of time until something terrible happens to the innocent. But I find comfort in the thought that there is this character, symbolically at least, who will always stare in the face of adversity and kick it in the teeth. That isn’t scared to do what needs to be done despite that moral and ethical ramifications . And who will always do the right thing. Despite being a grown up this still matters to me. Batman, you guided me when I was young and give me comfort now that I am older. I thank you and all that you stand for.

The missing link.

Tonight I watched the ITV production of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.  I thought that it was generally good (I’m something of a closeted Austen fan), but I was distracted by actor William Beck, who played John Thorpe.

This is William Beck.

And this is him in character in Northanger Abbey.

Now, look at this man.  He looks familiar doesn’t he?  I first thought that he was a comic actor and then part of a musical duo but then I realised that he was the offspring of both.  For William Beck, also known for his stellar work in The Bill, is in fact the child of:

Robert Webb…

…and Jemaine Clement.

One, two, three, four – I declare console war

Recently, I bought myself a used (but still rather shiny) PlayStation 3 games console. And very pleased I am with it. However, as a user of both the Xbox 360 and, now, PS3, one clings to the question: which is better? A simple search online (and, more specifically, on YouTube) pointed me to this one, rather sad conclusion: the vast majority of people who have written articles or recorded videos stating a preference are just fanboys who have a bias before they start. Their rantings about high price, lack of online support, graphics, noisy cooling fans etc are almost pre-ordained to be negatives against whichever console that they don’t like.

I would like to make amends for all of this and to champion the pros and cons of a debate that, I think, most gamers would want and deserve. While writing this paragraph, I am unsure which console shall come out on top. All that I can promise is that the arguments for and against each system will be balanced, unbiased and fair.

Disclaimer
The following article may contain opinion. These are my own and do not represent the feeling of my country, race, sex or sexuality.

Firstly, I would like to explain why this is a two horse race. I can almost hear the sighs of people reading this who are thinking “but he hasn’t mentioned the Nintendo Wii – isn’t that the market leader and most popular of the three 7th Generation systems?”. Well, let me explain.

While it is true the the Wii is the top seller and that it promotes, arguably, the most innovation of all of the three living room systems, it falls short in terms of power and titles of Microsoft and Sony’s machines. The Wii is marketed for non-gamers and families and excels at providing an social and interactive experience in the living room, with people of varying ages and gaming abilities. Yes, there are a select few titles that are multi-platform (for example Call of Duty: World At War is available on all three platforms), but, frankly, the Wii in terms of both power and control simply is not in the same category as the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

The PC is also omitted from debate as it is a constantly moving and updating piece of kit that appeals, I think, to a totally different group of people. It would be unfair to compare a game that runs on a console that is getting on to being 4 years old and a game that wouldn’t run on the high specs of last year’s top of the range PC. This is a console battle.

Now that we have that out of the way, we can begin.

COST & VALUE

At the time of writing, Gamestation have got Xbox 360 bundles for about £180 (with a 60gb memory unit, controller and game) and, PlayStation 3 bundles for about £309 (with 80gb of memory, controller and game). Now, while this sounds like an easy victory for Microsoft, let’s just have a look at what you’re getting.

The 360 comes with the lower price tag, but, considering the extras you get with the PS3, this makes it an interesting battle. Not only does the PS3 have a larger hard drive but you also get wireless internet connectivity built in (you have to fork out £60 for the Xbox dongle) and a BluRay disc drive (you can still buy the Microsoft HD-DVD drive that plugs into the 360 at about £120, although it must be noted that HD-DVD is now an obsolete format whereas BluRay keeps going from strength to strength). Now, if you are planning to treat your console as a multimedia unit then it’s actually the PS3 that comes out on top in terms of value (especially considering that standalone BluRay players tend to sell at about £250), but if you either don’t care about these things (or already own a BluRay player and have a modem right next to your TV) and just want a games machine, then, obviously, the 360 wins the round. It all depends on what you want.

FEATURES

Playstation 3
The games run on BluRay format, which means that there is a built in BluRay drive that will play high definition movies and DVDs alike. And, just in case there are snobs out there who belittle and becry using games consoles for playing movies, be rest assured that the PS3’s BluRay player is every bit as good as the stand alone players of comparable value and is actually better than most of the entry level models. The picture is crisp and flowing and, importantly, as the PS3 connects to the internet wirelessly, it updates itself periodically so ensure that the latest features can always be viewed. An additional remote control can be purchased for about £15, but the game pad works well.

The PlayStation 3 also features a web browser, so you can watch streaming movies and access emails, YouTube and everything else that the internet offers. Although a definite plus, it is somewhat cumbersome and difficult to use without a keyboard. It does let you store favourite websites and has a predictive text function, which helps, but overall the experience is somewhat disappointing.

Then there is the PlayStation Store, where one can get game demos and buy arcade games, themes and soundtracks for games. This is all well and good, but somehow lacking in both content and design. Then there is PlayStation Home.

I am sure that if you climbed aboard the Second Life train then PlayStation Home would be something of a treat for you. It enables you to create a realistic avatar of yourself and gives you a sparcely decorated flat to live in. You can leave the flat and go to town and meet other gamers who are there as well. I was not someone who joined in with Second Life and, likewise with PlayStation Home, find the whole thing rather creepy. This coupled with the fact that the vast majority of users that are online at the same time as you don’t really know what’s going on either, makes this more hassle than it’s worth. And the signing up and signing in loading times are just a joke.

The PS3 offers online play at no extra cost and this is perfectly acceptable, although it does feature occasional lag and sparsely populated servers. However, recently, Sony have taken control away from the developers with their online gaming, which promises to have a faster, more reliable system. But, for now, it is adequate but fails to shine.

The PS3 connects with the PlayStation Portable, which, so they tell me, can act as another controller. I don’t own a PSP so can’t really comment on this, but given that it apparently can act as a PDA on certain games, this seems pretty cool indeed. And you can download games on your PS3 for your PSP and transfer them. All good stuff.

Older PS3s are able to play some PS2 games, while newer 40GB and above models do not offer any backwards compatibility. So if your wanting to play some PS2 games (which are still classic) then you’ll have to dig out the PS2 and connect it up via the scart or three cables. Sucks, I know.

Xbox 360

On paper, the 360 suffers when compared to the PS3. No BluRay player, no wireless connectivity and no web browser. But, having said all that, it does have Xbox Live.

Xbox Live is the single best feature of any online gaming experience (except maybe Windows Live as it uses the same system). Not only does it allow for a more seamless gaming experience, it offers movies, music videos, themes, gamer pics, trailers and demos. It also feature its own magazine, Inside Xbox, which gives information about upcoming games, strategies on games that have just been released, interviews with creative teams behind future titles and question and answer sessions. In short, Xbox Live is something that is way and above anyone else does in terms of internet based gaming.

Xbox Live does come at a price though, and that price is about £5 a month. The types of accounts are split into Silver (free – can download movies and demos and access content) and Gold (about £5 a month, can play games online, can get demos ahead of release and access some exclusive content). While it is annoying that one has to pay another charge for the privilege of online gaming it is clear that you get what you pay for. The servers are fast and reliable, the system matches players according to their ability, and allows you to report players that don’t play fair, resulting in a fair and satisfying experience. True, there are mistakes here and there and there are jokers around, but all in all its a system that is second to none.

Conclusion

Although the 360 has the superior online gaming experience setup, it is clear to see that the PS3 outstrips it in terms of features. There are few people who won’t be thankful for the BluRay player, which easily makes up for the higher price tag. Again though it comes down to personal expectation. If you want a pure gaming machine then the 360 edges it, but for the bulk and quality of extras, the PS3 wins.

NB: It is worth noting the future may sway towards the 360, with the announcements made at this year’s E3. The 360 will be able to be used as a Sky TV box, with no extra hardware, and users will be able to access Twitter and Facebook directly from their console. However, this may not make up for the lack of BluRay drive and will probably incur extra costs, for the Sky at least.

PERFORMANCE

Playstation 3

The PS3 is reliable, quiet and reasonably fast when it comes to games. The games themselves are only available up to a 720p display, although this doesn’t detract from the graphics. In fact, the graphics shown on exclusive games like Little Big Planet, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2 are about as good as you can get on console.

The BluRay player also works extremely well, with picture and sound quality very very high. It has been speculated that the system settings should be altered to get the most out of it, but this is by no means an urgent requirement.

The DVD playback is, however, less successful. The PS3 does not automatically stretch the screen if watching something filmed in 4:3 ratio, giving a vertical letter box feel with it both ugly and restricting. On one DVD, the viewable screen shrunk down to about 30 inches, so, while still widescreeen, it was less that the 37″ that my TV offers. This can all be adjusted using the settings, but with a game pad this is difficult to work out, resulting in a loss of immersion.

The online capability is good but slow to connect and the setup takes forever. The access that certain games need is a little hit and miss (Little Big Planet refused to connect at all for me, although I could access PlayStation Home and the PlayStation Store) but, when working, seems to work well enough.

The controllers charge via a USB cable that plugs into the front of the console, and the battery life is very impressive. I game for approximately 20-25 hours a week and find that I only need to charge the pad once during that time. The rumble isn’t all that great (sacrifices had to be made for the SIXAXIS motion sensor) but works well enough.

Xbox 360

The 360 is, sadly, besmirched with various problems. The first and most obvious of these is the incredibly loud cooling fan. While by no means a game wrecker, it does threaten to annoy during the quieter moments in games. Then there is the fact that a lot of units have had the so-called Red Ring of Death, when the system packs up because it overheats. I have had this happen to me and it’s sodding annoying, because you either have to replace your system (which I did – luckily it was under warranty) or pay someone to fix it. And it costs. It really makes you wonder what the cooling fan is making so much noise for. Then again, you’ll get used to the fan and cases of the RRoD aren’t that common, especially in the later models.

The DVD playback is brilliant, with its automatic resizing of screen ratio. The gamerpad provides an easy to use interface, with very few frustrations to hamper enjoyment. And, like the PS3, one can buy a media remote if it all becomes too much.

The controllers feel robust and made for gaming – some might complain that they are heavy but to me they simply feel for definite in your hands. The battery life is less than you’ll get from the PS3, and you have to use AA batteries which can be costly if you’re not using rechargeables, but with that you get enough rumble to excite an elderly person. You also lose out on the SIXAXIS motion stuff, but, to be honest, that’s a bit of a tacked on extra anyway.

Conclusion

Although the 360 suffers from a noisy fan, it performs doing what it needs to do. It also has the better feeling controller. But then again, the PS3 system feels slick and has the superior battery life that runs by itself rather than from costly batteries. The DVD playback does let it down though, and this is something that users of the PS3 will want. So I would say that this is probably a draw, but if pushed, I would say that the 360 just edges it.

GAMES

All of the previous categories aside, a games console is only as good as the games it offers. After all, this is the very reason that the majority of people will be buying a console and not, as the makers would have you believe, for the multimedia experience.

It must be noted that the obvious thing to do would be to compare like for like, but, as I am but a gamer rather than a games journalist, I don’t know first hand which games run better on which system first hand. I can however cite what others have said and speculate what I feel would be better based on controller, power of the system etc. Please bear this in mind when reading.

PlayStation 3 Exclusives

The exclusive games that the PS3 has that are worthy of play may be small but they are of the highest quality available to console gamers at the moment. Little Big Planet innovates not just in terms of visuals (which are stunning) and sound design (which is lovely) but with the scope of user based content. Simply put, there is nothing remotely similar on any platform. Killzone 2 offers a standard FPS, but one which is of the highest quality and features graphics better than anything seen on a console before and enough gameplay tweaks to keep you interested. And Metal Gear Solid 4 features such a unique gaming experience that you really have to play it to understand just how good it is. It is also worth noting that it uses an entire 50gb BluRay disc for the game, so it literally would not run on the 360.

Xbox 360 Exclusives

The 360 has been around for a lot longer than the PS3, so obviously has a more impressive range of exclusive titles. Halo 3 features a solid campaign and deep and rich multiplayer not seen on a console game before or since. I must admit that I’m not much of a Halo fan as I find the meat and gravy of a game in its single player campaign modes and in my opinion, Halo 3’s simply didn’t cut the mustard. Gears of War 1 and 2 are more seminal and, I think, just better games with brutal, visceral action and cliché ridden but deeply satisfying story. The campaign is amazing as is the online play, and this makes for one of the best gaming experiences ever. Fable II and Mass Effect offer two of the best western RPGs ever produced with amazing visuals, deep stories and changeable plots depending on whether you play as a good character or bad.

Games available on both platforms

It must be said that, when researching this, there is very little difference in the game experiences offered on either PS3 or 360. In IGN’s comparison videos for Grand Theft Auto IV, the viewer is told that both versions are awesome and to buy whichever ones your friends are playing to maximize the online experience. In most part, the games tend to follow the same pattern. The graphics are slightly more detailed and textured on the PS3, but the game suffers some extra clipping and slowdown because of this. The less detailed 360 graphics run smoother and faster. But neither of these things are significant enough to make a gaming experience inferior or bad.

There are two clear examples of games running better or worse on a console. The Orange Box, one of the best games bundles ever released performs much better on 360 than PS3, because of Valve, the developers, finding the PS3’s coding hard to use. The PS3 version is plagued with frame rate drops and clipping and slow loading times. It’s still a good game, but definitely poorer than the 360 counterpart.

Streetfighter IV, on the other hand, favours users of the PS3. This has nothing to do with the way that the game runs or performs (it’s still razor sharp on 360) but with the controller. Because the PS3’s DualShock 3 features a defined D-Pad compared to the 360s soft and spongy disc, one can pull off moves on the PS3 that woud be very hard indeed for 360 users. However, for both systems an old school gamer joystick can be purchased for the ultimate fighting experience, but again, it’s extra cost.

In my opinion, shooting games are better suited to the 360 as the analogue sticks feel better and are placed more sympathetically on the pad. The weight of the controller feels good in the hand and pulling the deep shoulder button just feels more trigger-like. Sports games are probably better suited to the PS3 controller, as the D-Pad allows for vastly more precision and the shallower buttons allow for more subtle and deft plays on the ball or board. I would say that it’s an even keel when it comes to racing games.

Conclusion

Both have a few exclusive titles that are worth getting a console for and both have games that perform brilliantly and poorly compared to their counterpart. It’s really too close to call and it all depends which games appeal to you personally.

To sum up…

There really isn’t a winner. Both are exceptional machines that will delight gamers and media fans everywhere. Yes, the PS3 is stacked with hardware perks, but the 360 has online support to die for. If you want a multimedia centre, then choose the PS3. If you want a games machine that excels at shooters, then choose the 360. If I had to choose now, I would have to look closely at the exclusive titles and see which ones I preferred. I always intended to get both consoles, but at the time of my initial purchase there was no Metal Gear Solid 4, no Little Big Planet and no Killzone 2, so it was an easy decision to get my 360 first.

One last thought

I don’t earn a huge amount of money and I’m not exactly what you’d call debt-free. I sometimes find it hard to get by, but gaming is important to me. In fact, it’s so important that I refused to make the choice and bought both. It really is a choice that you don’t have to make. If you are serious about console gaming and about living room entertainment hubs then simply save your pennies and buy both systems. It may take some time but if gaming is your primary hobby then you owe it to yourself to not choose. And trust me, if I can get both then so can you.

RESULT

Tie. Ain’t that a bitch?

Christopher’s shameless YouTube plug goes to…

CarlottaMusic!! Seriously it’s amazing. I clicked the initial link expecting downright awfulness and hilarity but instead I was treated to something rather special.

And I don’t even like Queen!

They do The Beatles justice as well though.

Wooo-ee!

Poetry.

I’m the first to admit that I’m not a big reader of things. I tend to imagine voices and think about timbre and delivery when I read, meaning that it’s generally a slow process that I tire of easily. This is perhaps doubly true when it comes to poetry, which I admire from afar but don’t have much of an interest in. I find the fruity language to be interesting and the metaphors clever and satisfying but, well, the majority of poetry that I seem to have read has either been far too flouncy or far too bleak.

However, I have recently discovered Philip Larkin, who seems to write in such simple and graceful terms about the things that genuinely interest me (the human condition within somewhat quietly aggressive misanthropy) and it is absolutely marvelous.

Suddenly all of that time spent thinking that poetry was not for me fades away into nothing.

Humanist.

Well, I’m back following the hiatus caused by my lack of laptop (which fell foul to a broken charger), and, honestly, I’m angry about things. Mostly, brothers and sisters, religion.

I was never raised in any particular religion and have, as a subsequence always been open minded when it came to fate and understanding of where our morality comes from. The idea of a god-like figure never sat easily with me and, recently, I realised that I was more or less hiding behind the term “agnostic” to sum up what I believed (or didn’t) and came out of the denominational closet and announced myself as being an atheist. And I found this to be a very good thing to do. I now take an active interest in Humanistic thinking and ethics; believing that life is actually all there is really frees up time and effort to actually enjoy life. I find that it is a sensible and rewarding view to have in life, and one that I take a pride in.

It does however mean that I have even less patience with religion – particularly organised religion – than ever before. I’m not going to rant on my personal feelings or views on what I think of individual faiths or religions (after all, I respect others who worship in a certain way, I just don’t agree with it) but I was so offended by the following article by Christian Voice (who are essentially to Christianity what the National Front is to politics) about a Gay Rights march in Brighton on 10th August, 2007. The article can be found here: http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/Press/press045.html

One paragraph reads:

“‘Shame on you’, chanted an overweight man, clutching his ‘boyfriend’s’ hand, seemingly unaware of the paradox of accusing others of shame while foaming out his own shame (Jude 1:13). Such perversion merely demonstrates the truth of the Bible when it says ‘the unjust knoweth no shame’ (Zeph 3:5). The Apostle Paul also writes of those ‘Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly (Greek ‘koilia’) and whose glory is in their shame’ (Phil 3:19).”

Not much in the way of love or understanding there. The article follows this dictat of pathetic and outdated homophobia while constantly ramming home scripture, presumably as some kind of justification. Interestingly (especially given my earlier comparison) the National Front are mentioned as they too protested the march, which Christian Voice seem to object to, not because of the racism and hatred that the NF convey but because they were aping their protests:

“Funny how the NF have just picked up on the idea of protesting at gay pride events, three years after we started in London 2005. Could it be that some homosexual in the NF has worked out that their presence could devalue ours? No, they aren’t that bright, surely? But just maybe the spirit of homosexuality is still as inseparable from national socialism as it was when the Nazi Party began its obscene life in a Munich gay bar.”

Seems like there’s a war of who hates the gays the most.

It is disturbing indeed that Christian Voice can get away with much of what they say because they are a religious organisation, thus, on the “side of good”. It goes to show the dangers that can exist if you treat a 2000 year old book, written two hundred years after the fact and translated, subverted and censored by propagandist authors of numerous religious and political powers as the “truth” that life should be lived by. I don’t agree with religion at all, but I recognise that there are practitioners who are adaptable, open minded and tolerant. All that Christian Voice seem to be is a bunch of paranoid, outdated extremists who feel the need to picket everything from theatre shows to bus hoardings not because they believe in what they preach but because they are in such desperate need of spiritual control because the thought of life scares them so much. After all, this is a group who’s spokesman, Stephen Green, told the BBC that “Bendy-buses, like atheism, are a danger to the public at large”.

But then, that’s the mentality of some people. I’ll close with Stewart Lee, who sums up the inherent stupidity of it all better than I can.

Animals

There are things in life that are too practical to be fun, or too funny to be practical. Although this statement is true for a huge proportion of the time, there are the occasional little gems of things that are so silly and ridiculous that they can only be clever and pioneering.

While on a bored Wikipedia expedition last night I found an article about animals that are used in different services in human life. There are the obvious things like guide dogs (and guide horses, for those with allergies of dogs but, presumably, not horses) and police horses. But then I found that there were, in Boston, Massachusetts, a group of people called Helping Hands, who provided training for monkeys to provide living support to people who have been paralysed.

I thought that this was someone having a joke, but, upon further investigation, found it to be the absolute truth. And what a great idea it is. This video demonstrates why.

Predictably, a lot of the commenters on these videos are either saying that it is cruel for the monkeys to live with humans or that it is patronising for the people with the disabilities to be given a monkey for these aspects of their care. But this video, submitted by a man for whom care is provided in such a way, manages to dispel all of these negative views.

Pretty amazing.

And while I’m in this kind of mood, here is a video of a penguin that goes shopping.

Only in Japan.

Google-fu(lish)

About three years ago, I caught a performance that I really liked on Top of the Pops 2. I wanted to get a copy of the song, but the only thing that I could remember (other than a vague recollection of the tune and it having a decent bassline) were the words “country club” in the chorus.

The song that I wanted was this

but what I actually ended up with was this

Thus lies the problem with ill informed and badly worded Google searches. It also demonstrates how lucky we are for having youtube so new wave fans with bad memories don’t download rubbish country songs three times.