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I Can’t Believe That Actually Ran On a ZX Spectrum

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Incredible to think Sinclair’s classic ZX Spectrum is a whooping 30 years old yesterday and even more incredible to think I was just 6 years old when my parents blessed me by buying one for me and my sister for Christmas.

The Sinclair Spectrum was seen back then as the height of technology and although its technical capabilities seem amazingly weak by today’s standards, it marked the beginning of the real start of home computer gaming. The keys were made of rubber, games did not come on discs but on cassettes, Graphics may never have stood a chance, there were no cut sequences, no insertion of video and photo- mapping was unheard of. But that did not stop it from becoming a home favourite. What programmers had to focus on was real gameplay, interesting storytelling and making one fire button count for everything. Join us as I give you the run down on games that were incredible to see on such a small rubber button keyed home computer.

Daley Thompson’s Decathlon (1984)

Back in 1984, Daley Thompson was a national sporting hero so it’s no surprise he ended up the star of his own game. Inspired by Konami’s Track & Field, Daley Thompson’s Decathlon featured ten sporting events over two virtual days and was probably the cause of more fractured wrists and broken keyboards than any other game. Yes to play this game you had to erm…waggle the joystick from side to side.

Competing in events like the long jump, pole vault, javelin and 1500 metres.  If you did manage to complete the game though you would find yourself it was right back to the start to do it all over again.

One of the biggest-selling games of 1984, it enjoyed two equally frenetic follow-ups in the form of Daley Thompson’s Super Test and Olympic Challenge. For some though it created uproar – a black athlete portrayed as a white character. Nothing personal cried the programmers the humble Spectrum only had a palette of 8 colours and the black, well…it was just too dark to really be useful in play.

Street Fighter 2 (1993)

Yes, you heard me correctly the mighty Street fighter 2 had a port to the ZX Spectrum. A computer running at not even a fraction of console let alone the arcade hardware, perhaps what’s more incredible is that although it had a loading time to begin with it had no loading screen. Perhaps even more incredible is that it received high acclaim. The one fire button had to count for everything with the space bar alternating between kicks and punches. Incredible. Gameplay was obviously slower than its counterparts but to see the game moving is still remarkable to see.

 

Chase HQ (1989) 

Based on Taito’s sit down in the cabinet racer, Chase HQ was a game where you hunt down criminals with the aim of shunting them off the road before the time limit expired. Boy it was fast, boy it was frantic but was it ever going to fit into a Spectrum? Well, yes and it worked even if the Spectrum’s rather limited hardware did turn everything an unsightly shade of cyan and yellow.

 

 

 

Operation Wolf (1988)

Operation Wolf was perhaps one of the most well-known and iconic arcade games of all time. Basically, the game is pretty much a movie conversion of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Commando, only without the funny quips and one-liners. The experience begins as you dared to even approach the coin-op machine; an Uzi gun positioned on top just screaming ‘if you are not a man step away from the cabinet now…’. Essentially this was an ‘on the rails’ shooter that set the precedent for further games to come spawning three sequels: Operation Thunderbolt (1988), Operation Wolf 3 (1994) and Operation Tiger (1998). Many of which appeared on the Spectrum. So how was this was game achieved? Well you controlled the cross-hairs on-screen but later when the Spectrum released the 128k and +3 disc versions, a light gun was released which further increased the playability.

 

Elite (1985)
David Braben’s much-loved space trading and exploration game was packed with innovations and is rightfully heralded as a classic. With wire-frame-style 3D graphics and a vast, open-ended universe to uncover (featuring no less than 8 entire galaxies with 256 planets each), optional missions, space ship upgrades and elaborate trading rules, Elite was technical triumph of its time. It spawned two official sequels but its influence on the space exploration genre remains far-reaching even today.

 

Shadow Dancer (1991)

Produced by Sega as an arcade game in 1989. It is the second arcade game in the Shinobi series, following the original Shinobi itself and the unique selling point of this game was that you had a dog that you could send in to attack enemies. The game was developed on the (at the time impressive) Sega System 18 motherboard hardware. Home versions were released for the Master System and various home computers all of which had more raw power and technical prowess than the Spectrum, but did that stop our rubber keyed baby from trying to reproduce it? Hell no…I reckon she would have taken on Resident Evil if she had the chance.

Out Run (1986)

Another arcade game released by Sega. Designed by Yu Suzuki and developed by Sega-AM2. This game was a critical and commercial success, becoming one of the best-selling video games of its time. Most noted for its innovative hardware (including a moving cabinet), pioneering graphics and music, innovative features such as offering the player choices in both soundtrack and non-linear routes, and its strong theme of luxury and relaxation. So in retrospect one could be forgiven for thinking the Spectrum could possibly have bitten off more than it could chew, I mean, the memory is not big enough on the 48k to load everything (48k being an average bit rate per second for a common MP3 by today’s standards!) So how did they do it? Well with great difficulty. I had the tape version which meant you had to load each stage by hand, forwarding to the necessary ‘point’ which was very fiddly on a cassette. As for the music, you were required to turn over the tape which was a ‘music side’ to play a pre-recorded soundtrack of the game and this just condemned the game to confusion. However this did not deter game players and sales of this title went through the roof

Yie Ar Kung-Fu (1985)

An arcade fighting game developed and published by Konami. It was and still is considered by many gamers to be the basis for all modern fighting games. It pits the player against the now familiar variety of opponents, each with a unique appearance and fighting styles. So why is it here when the mighty Street-fighter 2 is on this list? Well the player could perform up to sixteen different moves, which, back in 1985 was practically unheard of. Note too the energy bar and the KO counter in the centre of the screen and the detailed backgrounds. Look familar? These facets are now common in fighting games thanks to this title and its success.

 

Skool Daze (1984)

You think of school and you think that would make a good game, hey lets just learn French and German all over again, lets find that girl who cheated on me, lets avoid those bullies and hey, let’s try it on with that cookery teacher all over again right? Well, we thought so. In this 1984 classic though, you’re on a quest to swipe your report card from the headmaster’s office. Trouble is, school keeps getting in the way and you have to attend classes, placate teachers and steer clear of the school bully if you’re going to avoid expulsion before your job’s done. It’s like Grange Hill but with the actors singing ‘just say yes’ and not only did it spawn a sequel ‘Back to Skool’ but also was the godfather of ‘Bully’ another school game for the PS2.

 

The Lords of Midnight (1984)

My penultimate entry in the how-the-hell-did-they-pull-this-off is Lords of Midnight; a fantasy game with ground-breaking ‘3D’ visuals and an incredibly rich mix of classic adventuring. It was possible to win the game in one of three ways, all focused on the destruction of Doomdark the Witchking of Midnight. You could play it as a straightforward adventure, as a strategic war game where you’re tasked with recruiting lords around the land to defeat the evil forces or through a combination of both. The graphics do not look much hack but it was incredible to play and when you think of RPGs today such as Final Fantasy and the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma they all have a lot to thank titles such as this one.

RoboCop (1988)

A run and gun and beat ’em up…hybrid arcade game based on the movie of the same name. I personally owned this (although I was too young to see the movie…obviously and good thing too, it would have given me nightmares…)  However, the technical inefficiencies meant the Spectrum had a less than faithful port that only loosely followed the arcade version. In addition to a different soundtrack, the boss battles were replaced with a screen where the player must shoot a man holding a woman hostage (without hitting her). However this did not stop the game receiving critical success, a CRASH Smash award from CRASH, 94% in Sinclair User and Your Sinclair gave 8.8 out of 10 placing it at number 94 in the Your Sinclair official top 100. The overall opinion was that this game was better than the original arcade game. Its capture of the original material, smooth scrolling and animation, sampled speech and sound effects were huge bonus points and the playability of the game was fantastic.

And so ends our list – Happy Birthday to The Spectrum! Now…how does that loading noise go again….

Prey 2 Not Cancelled

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After fears that the eager awaited Prey 2 had been shelved, ‘Bad Boy’ publisher Bethesda has finally come clean and confirmed that Prey 2 has not been cancelled, but it won’t be released this year after apprehension over its current quality.

The saying goes ‘Bad news travels fast, but good news travels slow’. Well this is news could not come a moment too soon. After rumours emerged almost a fortnight ago that the beloved ‘Prey 2’ was being canned; rumours that the developers Bethesda refused to deny, a public statement has now been issued that its development has not been cancelled but put on hold for further development and as result unlikely due to be released in 2012 as planned.

In a press release they go onto say ‘The delay is due to the fact that game development has not progressed satisfactorily this past year, and the game does not currently meet our quality standards. Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans.

‘We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want. We are determined only to release the AAA game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule.’

No other information, and certainly no new screenshots or footage, has been offered up but the news sure to make the many fans who posted on their face book fan page rejoice.

Rumours that the game had been cancelled were surprising as the game impressed most people that saw it at E3 and Gamefest festival last year. However, the lack of any hands on demos certainly gave the possibility that very little else of the game has been finished or indeed even properly planned.

Prey 2 has relatively little to do with the 2006 first person shooter and follows a new character who is marooned on an alien planet and forced to become a bounty hunter.

If you haven’t seen the trailer for this game then take a real look below and enjoy; this might be all we see of the game for a while. Then again, another good saying is ‘Everything comes to those who wait’. Well Time will tell if this game will be everything we come to expect of ‘Bad Boy’ publisher Bethesda.

 

Warwick Castle Review – An Underestimated Hidden Gem!

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School holidays are well underway and with so many various attractions prying for your attention via different media and even social networks, one could be forgiven for overlooking Warwick Castle as being far too historic for children. But to do so would be a huge mistake. As I discovered on a recent visit to the castle, it is a place of wonder, mystery and magic. A place where young girls can become princesses and young boys can pull the legendary sword from the stone and be declared King to rapturous applause. Where knights fight gallantly to defend the kingdom and where dark secrets are kept hidden away in dungeons.

Warwick Castle represents an interesting combination of a modern visitor attraction in a historic location. A real medieval castle in Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire it takes just 1 hour 15 minutes to get there directly by train from London Marylebone station and is only a 10-15 min walk from the station.

The surrounding countryside and castle are incredible to see. Built by William the Conqueror in 1068 the castle simply oozes regality and by itself represents a remarkable piece of English heritage, but to stop there would be to miss out on some of the core attractions that will keep both young and old imaginations enthused like wildfire. I have tried my best to capture some of the amazing experiences I had the pleasure of enjoying but in truth, there is more to see than is capable in one day. Nevertheless taking the little one out to Warwick castle proved an impeccable treat. Highlights included:

The Castle Dungeon

Dank, pungent and scary this was very much akin to The London Dungeon experience.

I guess the dark colours mean she isn't joking...

One bears witness to perhaps one of the most frightening times in history: 1345 a time of the plague. A period of real hopelessness and fear, a time where people suffered relentlessly and prayed for redemption. Walking though the gates you are transported into the castle dungeon, greeted by scary monks, castle cooks, decaying bodies, torturers, court room judges, execution and where you can literally got lost  in ‘the labyrinth of lost souls’. I won’t give away anything from the storyline but for me personally the final room proved the most scary, representing something from a scene of both Blair Witch and Paranormal activity, it was very unnerving. A foreboding sign outside does say ‘Not suitable for under 10′s and there was some brave children who came inside and were very brave. However, for wussies like me, I found myself covering my eyes most of the time and praying the rest of the time. It has to be said that the actors were first class professionals, truly bringing this horrible part of history to life.

Merlin: The Dragon Tower

Based on the BBC’s hit series Merlin; this real life tour gave my little one and I the chance to experience the magic of Merlin first hand. Beginning in a book shop where a young apprentice has been told to guard the secrets of the Elders’ magic we follow her to the magical mirror through which we could talk to The Great Dragon. This was a fantastic treat for all the kids and it was amazing to see their eyes light up at actually being able to interact with the character from the television show. The technology used really shone; this wasn’t some pre-scripted video we were watching the dragon asked questions of the audience, repeated a couple of people’s names and even told us our destiny; to be future warriors of the kingdom apparently. It was incredible, however I found the experience to be short-lived. It would have been great if more had happened to extend the encounter.

Warwick Warriors display –

Warwick Castle has a number of different events happening dependant on the day, the weather and the

The sword fighting is amazing

season. Rolling alternatively to the Jousting Knights is the Warwick Warriors. My advice is to always check the time of key events as you arrive and plan your day accordingly so as not to miss anything. The Warriors perform once daily and are a feast on the eyes. Why? Because they are the closest any of us will get to actually seeing a real life sword fighting display in person. Again the quality of the acting, the atmosphere, everything works together to give quite a profound experience and one where the actors will break any misconceptions that you might have had about knights and sword fighting.

The Princess Tower – 

The Princess Tower represents probably the real life dream of every young girl and maybe a few adults too. Going through what is perhaps the largest doorway I’ve seen, the little ones were enthused to actually sit in a throne and have their pictures taken. Going up a long spiral staircase took us to the tower adorned with picture frames of different princesses all over the world. Going through to an adjoining room we were greeted by a princess who taught us exactly what it means to be one. Can you feel a pea under your bed? Can you kiss a lot of frogs? Well I sure have anyway. Finally a magic mirror opens up and we get to choose a wedding dress for the princess’s bestest friend. Like all the other experiences I found the acting to be first class and if anything it is their belief in what they are doing that means the children are thrilled and follow into the fantasy.

Birds of Prey – 

There was an impressive flying demonstration of some of the most amazing birds in the castle demonstration.

The Bird display is pretty incredible - the birds get real up close to visitors...

The bird handler was knowledgeable and seemed to make even the most mundane information sound fun. I saw Harris’ Hawks, Eagles with incredible wing spans and a huge Owl that seemed to have his own diva moment. It was fun to watch and because the birds are so well-trained they get right up close and personal. To see them fly is astounding.

Food and Drink –

Next on our stop was a bite to eat and we were pleasantly surprised to find quite a few venues within easy walking distance of the main attractions all with a different range of food and drink. There are quite a few marquees within the landscaped grounds but we opted for the 18th Century Coach House, which offered a pub style menu and we were pleased to see healthy snacks shown on the menus by the ‘Healthier Choices’ logo. We were also provided with free fresh fruit salad for the children’s meals which I thought was a real nicety.

Sword in the Stone Show –

Here the legendary tale of Arthur came to life. Within the gathering crowd the forces of good and evil stirred. Was the power of Good, justice and a bright new future going to befall the kingdom or was its destiny going to be ruled by darkness?  According to the story only the new King Arthur had the pureness of character to pull the legendary sword Excalibur from the stone. Again this was another real treat for the family; the acting first class, drawing you into the world of fantasy – very good indeed.

The Kingmaker – 

This is more for the history buffs amongst you, more like a museum than anything else. Here you can find out how weapons were made, how armour was crafted and see what mediaeval life was really like through sights, sounds and even smells. Like most of Warwick Castle this is history without barriers, and without ‘do not touch’ signs; you can get right up close and personal with your experience, try on helmets and touch and hold swords that would have been used in battle.

The Towers & Ramparts – 

Taking a well deserved rest from fantasy lands full of Princesses and stories of Merlin I decided to explore and check out the tower. Outside a sign warned me ‘One Way Only’ I wish I had taken heed; there are so many steps involved in getting to the top of the castle I needed a much-needed rest. However in truth it was all worth it as the view was awesome to see and I took loads of unbelievable shots of the surrounding countryside and the rest of the tower which, it has to be said is marvellous.

The Grounds & Gardens – 

I thought I would mention this if only to reiterate the fabulous layout of the grounds. My partner and I belong to the National Trust and getting away from it all is something we frequently relish as we live in the heart of

Besides the attractions - the castle grounds too are there to be enjoyed...

London. First built in 1068 on the orders of William the Conqueror, it formed the most important part of the Norman castle’s defence system. The hill by the castle has been described as the perfect vantage point, not for defending against marauding troops but for taking in the beautiful unfolding views of these peaceful grounds.  Walking around the gardens is incredibly tremendous and peaceful. Animals such as peacocks and birds are so well-kept that they just move freely. On our visit two peacocks went into their own fashion display in getting the visitor’s attention.

Firing of the Trebuchet –

The last thing we had time for was the demonstration of the castle’s Trebuchet. Effectively an old-fashioned manpowered catapult, used to keep enemies at bay. Again brought to life by first class actors and the Duke of the Castle who was more than happy to share useful info as to how it all worked and came about.

My Verdict

In one word: incredible.Warwick Castle has earned the term The Ultimate Castle but in reality the words don’t do it justice. There is so much to see that you probably won’t fit it all in one visit. Throughout our entire trip I saw many happy faces; children fulfilling their fantasies, adults with that tell-tale look on their face and not just because they had stayed at the hotel (it’s haunted apparently). I’m not sure but it has that rare effect of tapping the imagination that the bigger parks with all their big rides and commercialism seem to miss and what’s more it does it all simply, whether that is swords, whether that is soldiers on horse back whether it is Merlin and tales of magic. All staff I met were fantastic, whether actors or working on the gate, in the cafe, or the shop, it all added to making the visit more enjoyable.

Things you need to know:

Book online 7 days in advance

If you book online 7 days in advance you can save 30% off admission fees; book 48 hours in advance and save 20%: purchase a Warwick Castle Kingdom Ticket for entrance to Warwick Castle, The Castle Dungeon (over 10s only) and Merlin: The Dragon Tower for adults from £21.42; children aged 4-11 years from £18.06

For more info check out: http://www.warwick-castle.com/tickets-and-offers/ticket-prices.aspx

or their booking line on – 0871 265 2000

Travelling by Train

It takes from as little as 80 minutes to get to Warwick Station from London Marylebone.   To book your ticket, just visit  www.chilternrailways.co.uk  and remember, when you go by train you get 2 for 1 on entry to Warwick Castle.

Double check everything – Check the timings of trains, events, costs, even the weather before you get there and plan accordingly. Some of the attractions are outside and on our day it was quite nippy – be prepared. Also some shows are not repeated so it makes sense to plan ahead.

Have some spare cash – there is only one cash-point that I saw inside, and some of the attractions you have to pay for and kids always want snaps which cost too. When you plan ahead take these costs into consideration.

If you have the guts do try to stay over – the hotel is apparently a treat for the senses (so I am told) and lets face it there is too much to do in one day.

For more info check out

http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk/

As if you needed any more convincing – you should check out the video below

NEW Kid Icarus: Uprising Weapons Infographic Now Available!

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In case you didn’t know – Kid Icarus: Uprising was launched exclusively on Nintendo 3DS on 23rd March to rave reviews; gamers simply cannot get enough of the flying / hack and slash / puzzler of a game that takes full advantage of the 3DS hardware. You simply will not believe your eyes.

Now the infographic has been released revealing for the first time the vast array of weapons available in the game.

Each weapon type has individual characteristics including attack range and trajectory and how it affects your speed of movement; each weapon also has attributes that influence your battlefield skills.  Weapons can be bought, sold and gained through the multiplayer mode and fused together to create even more devastating weapons with unique characteristics. From the Samurai Blade’s powerful slashing attacks to the EZ Cannon’s charged shots, from the Babel Club’s enormous sandstorms to the Meteor Bow’s long range comets drawing power from the night sky – there are a wealth of choices to make when battling Medusa’s dark hordes.

To check out the Infographic check out: http://www.nintendo.co.uk/kidicarusuprising/infographic/

For those of you not yet caught up in the incredible game that is Kid Icarus check out the trailer created by Mr Sakurai and the Sola Studio and don’t forget to give us your feedback – its priceless!

 

Highs and Lows of The Ridge Racer Franchise

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Incredible to believe that Ridge Racer has been around since 1993. whilst the latest instalment leaves much to be desired, join us as we take a look back at the highs and lows of perhaps one of the most incredible race franchises of all time.

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Ridge Racer Arcade Game and Ports

In 1993 a racing video game was released into the world by Namco. That game was Ridge Racer. It was initially released on the Namco System 22 arcade system board, and was later ported to the PlayStation console. It was released in competition to the rift of racing games released at the time by Sega such as Daytona and VR Racing and became an instant hit owing to the photo realistic nature of the graphics and arcadey style driving engine which was easy to pick up and hard to put down.

The first home version of Ridge Racer was released in Japan in 1994 as a launch title for the original Sony PlayStation console. Some players may say that it was an ‘arcade perfect port’ which was a term that was banded around at the time but I still would say otherwise. One thing is for sure is that the game played a major role in establishing Playstation console and in giving it an early edge over its nearest competitor, the Sega Saturn. Nice touches included the option to change the in game music by removing the game disc and inserting your own favourite CD – a move that has never been repeated since.

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Ridge Racer Revolution

Firmly following the mantra of ‘if it isn’t broke don’t fix it’ Ridge Racer Revolution’ simply offered more of the same. I personally did not like it as it had dodgy collision detection, but I know loads of players who loved it as it had a two-player link-up mode which when played allowed the players access to the two courses from the original Ridge Racer game known as ‘Special 1’ and ‘Special 2’.

Normally only 4 cars are selectable, but all 12 are selectable if a player is able to defeat 100% of the enemies on the Galaga ’88 game before the title screen. In addition if this was done in less than 44 shots, not only were all the cars selectable, but the car bodies were smaller and the wheels bigger, looking much like buggies. Other changes included a commentator with a higher-pitched voice and different handling of the cars. However, while you can still race the three bonus cars, you cannot win them in the buggy mode. One way to easily access the buggy mode from the beginning is to hold L1, R1 select, down and triangle all simultaneously from when the game loads until the space invaders game – a special laser then emitted from the ship to kill all of the enemies on the space invaders game. Don’t say I don’t give away secrets.

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Rage Racer

Whilst arcade gamers got Rave Racer, Playstation owners got Rage Racer. They sound similar but believe me they are anything but. Visually the game took a different approach compared to the previous PlayStation titles. It looked more realistic and had a darker colour scheme.  For the first time in the Ridge Racer series, Rage Racer introduced a brand new advanced single player career system which used credits which were received from winning races which then could be used to buy and upgrade cars. I rate this as a low because although I loved the way it brought something new to the genre and I have fond memories of taking a Beetle look-alike round the track at break-neck speed the graphics were really rough around the edges and the music was horrendous.

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R4: Ridge Racer Type 4

This was the fourth game in the Ridge Racer series on the PlayStation.

With Namco now properly turning the attention to the home market this title was solely made for the home console.  There were eight tracks and a whopping 321 vehicles, Having realized their mistakes in the previous title back came gouraud shading on the polygons, giving the game a visual depth that was really lovely to the eye. The intro and presentation of the game was incredible. It was also the first Ridge Racer game on the Sony system to feature a two-player split screen mode, and featured two different driving models.

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Ridge Racer 64

This was the next in the racing instalment developed by Namco and Nintendo Software Technology for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. It featured tracks from Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution and its very own set of desert tracks exclusive to the Nintendo 64. On the Car Select screen you could join the Dig Racing Team, Pac Racing Club, Racing Team Solvalou and R.C. Micro Mouse Mappy all from Ridge Racer Type 4. It marked ahigh point of the series and you could also change the colours of the car instead of the normal colours. The music was equally great and moving away from solely producing titles for Sony’s home machines Nintendo 64 owners finally had a racing game they could be proud of.

 

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Ridge Racer V 

(RRV), was the fifth game in the Ridge Racer series on the PlayStation. It was in one word Incredible. One of the launch games for the PlayStation 2. It featured 14 tracks and 18 vehicles, with 5 modes of play. Taking full advantage of the new spec hardware available in the next generation console the colours were bright, the in game graphics and speed was insatiable and the music was banging. I remember going over one ridge in the game and having the lens flare coarse into my eyes furthermore the night time tracks too were amazing; dimly lit streets that forced you to really peer ahead on the road to see the next hairpin bend. One other thing that is worthy of note was the ‘endurance race’ 99 laps of hardcore racing that tested even the most veteran of racing games. When you completed it all you got was a well done screen though, although you still had bragging rights to your friends for doing so.

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R: Racing Evolution

This title marked a low point in the franchise. Released in Japanin November 27, 2003, in North America on December 9, 2003 and in Europeon April 2, 2004, R is a racing-sim. Much like considered a cross over like Rage Racing and Gran Turismo. Opting to feature 33 licensed cars and in-depth customization options the game also featured a system referred to as the pressure meter, a fighting game-esque gauge that filled up as the player gets closer to a rival car; the higher the meter, the greater the likelihood that the AI will make a critical mistake.

The game offered a story mode where the player followed the racing career of Rena Hayami as she struggles to deal with the busy life of a professional race car driver and the politics of the sport. The mode featured some 14 chapters that were supposed to bring something new to the franchise, however none of these factors could protect the game from critical feedback. ‘Boring as hell’ said one reviewer; ‘If I wanted to play a racing sim I would have bought Gran Turismo’ said another.

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Ridge Racer 6

This was the sixth instalment in the Ridge Racer series. Released exclusively on Xbox 360 in 2006, it was marked as an achievement for Xbox owners who previously never had a Ridge Racer title. The game featured a Full Motion Video opening, which showed the series mascot the gorgeous Reiko Nagase in full action. Defending their decision to produce a game for another even rival console Namco announced that it expected to sell over 500,000 copies of Ridge Racer 6 for the Xbox 360, although in reality that never happened; far fewer copies were actually sold; although that does not stop it from being a good game in its own right. Ridge Racer 7 for the PlayStation 3 is something of a “remix “of Ridge Racer 6, but with major differences such as new vehicles that were not seen in Ridge Racer 6 such as Sinseong, a Korean brand company, for the first time.


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Ridge Racer 7

This was the seventh console instalment in the Ridge Racer series of racing games, released exclusively on the PlayStation 3. The game has around 40 cars, many of which return from Ridge Racer 6 and the PSP incarnations of the game. There are also 22 courses, available in forward, reverse and mirror mode. The game runs at 1080p resolution and at 60 frames per second. It also features Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
The game marked a long awaited return to the Sony console and was a real hit in terms of what the console could do. Namco really pulled out the stops and later – to help Sony place further emphasis on 3D gaming, produced a Patch called “Ridge Racer 7 3D License Version” which enabled owners of Ridge Racer 7 to play the game in 3D for free and it offers free online game play via the PlayStation Network too.
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Ridge Racer Unbounded

I’m not going to say why here all you need to know is it is a real low point in the series. You can find my review in Frostmagazine’s very pages to find out

Ridge Racer Unbounded Review

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Namco should be slapped on their botties for letting what could have been a tremendous title go to waste and with good reason sent to their room for the rest of the month.

One question deserves to be continually asked: Why oh why would you give away a game with so much history and so much of a following and allow it to be utterly ruined? It is the equivalent of having a million pound winning lottery ticket and giving it away to an alcoholic.

Imagine this: you have an incredible franchise that you develop over the years. Sure, it may not be realistic enough to warrant the title ‘A Driving Simulator’ but hey, it is a fun arcade racer, the graphics are top notch, the speed and the flavour of racing is such that you build a world-wide following of fans that stay with you over three generations of consoles. At the last hurdle, maybe time is the issue or resources either way you allow another developer to step in and as such they drop the ball, next thing you know it is 3 nill to your opponents…

I really wanted this game to be good, I really did. So much so that when I read some of the other reviews on the game I refused to believe them. When one of my friends pointed out that the key to the game is about learning how to use the ‘Drift Button’ effectively. Inside I jumped for joy; maybe it was a whole misunderstanding for the other reviewers but now, two whole days later, I realised he was under the same deluded self deception as me. You see, gamers like us who grew up on the whole Ridge Racer series just don’t want to believe their beloved franchise is in the pan. But trust me, for this game it is; it is in the pan with a little bit of extra virgin oil and under a high heat.

I’ve always said that I would put the boot in when it came to crap titles but the only thing that is worse in this world than a crap game is an expensive crap game. Oh and this game is crap with more crappy pieces than a crappy bits lunch box meal made by a crappy deep fried chicken chop shop that is crap. You see I wouldn’t enjoy this game if it came as a PSN cheap download – the fact that it costs £40 is plain pathetic and a waste of money. I actually owe it to gamers to stop them going out there and buying this tosh.

Where do I start? Ridge Racer Unbounded tries to bring in core elements of Split/Second and Burnout series to the franchise of old. By itself this should not be a nail in the coffin. Like Split/Second you can open up shortcuts around the track by filling a power meter which generates by sliding and tailing other racers you can use this power in one of four ways; to provide a quick boost, open up shortcuts, smash into your opponents or create explosions. Unlike Split/Second however, you don’t trigger the explosions or shortcuts remotely: you smash into them to explode them or open them up. The problem here is in the execution. Question: When is a shortcut not a shortcut? When you take it and more often than not it puts you behind the competitors…duh… It’s an idea that sounds pants on paper and in reality is pants to see. Practically all shortcuts I have seen besides looking good, offer very little else. The explosions are nothing to write home about and have none of that ‘Ream-ability’ factor seen in Split/Second.

Secondly is control. Ridge Racer has always been renowned for its pick up and play capability. It is an arcade racer; mistime your brake and you don’t always screw up or end up in a wall. Unbounded follows this legacy; in fact most of the walls are destructible, which to its credit is a nice touch, but rather than keeping with the common traits of the genre i.e. gas, brake, boost, what we have here is an addition in the form of a ‘slide button’ that is supposed to allow you powerslide round corners. You see, if you hit the brake, handbrake, or hit a wall you lose a lot of speed but if you power-slide you lose just a little bit of speed but go into a wide angle slide in which you will hit the wall anyway. Makes sense doesn’t it? I thought so. Adding to this is that your opponents never make mistakes – the AI difficulty is incredible and there are no options to change it – this all means you will be sitting there for a long time playing the same tracks again and again just to qualify one race. Now some of you might be forgiven for thinking ‘I bet you he is just having a moan because he is not good at racing games’ but the reality is I have played and completed most of this game’s competitors and it is their qualities that make this game pale in comparison.

Graphics is average. Split/Second (a game that is almost a year and a half old) and Motorstorm Apocalypse easily outdoes this title in terms of quality and execution and even with Unbounded’s exploding walls or vehicles it brings nothing that hasn’t been seen or done better elsewhere. And what happened to the 3D? Is this yet another title that had dropped the notion of 3D gaming?

Music is poor. A classic element of Ridge Racer was the banging tracks and cheesy voice over. Thankfully the voice over is gone but where are the tracks? A host of Japanese unknowns and a couple of drum and bass tracks are all you get for your money. My gosh, that is such a wasted opportunity; Namco could have done remixes from the whole of the franchise, even SSX had tracks you knew or could dance to. This is just a really appalling effort.

To be fair to Bugbear, they have tried to introduce variety into the game and franchise but I don’t think they really spoke to the fans, or truly had a grasp of what made the original games so much fun. The only thing I could say I liked was the game’s much-hyped track editor. After all who wouldn’t want to build a Ridge Racer track from scratch? I found it flexible and easy to use, putting together a decent course in a very short space of time which was great, obviously, but the underlying problems that affect the racing on the ‘actual’ tracks still applied. Ho-Hum…

My Verdict

Ridge Racer Unbounded is nothing but a shame and a waste of money. I simply cannot recommend a game when I know there are superior, cheaper alternatives out there. Even if you find it out on your travels as a cheapie, avoid like the plague. You have been warned.

2 out of 10

Game Over for Game – But why?

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Right now if you visit GAME’s official website  you’ll find it “down for maintenance” with a message explaining the company’s gone into administration, who’s been appointed to handle the process and a disclaimer that the company is “currently reviewing and processing orders placed on this website.”

Why is a huge question – right now many of the company’s employees are asking the very same question and with good reason – Game is a games retail giant – or at least it was. Their failure is probably the biggest British retail collapse since Woolworths when its 815 stores went under at the end of 2008.

So what went wrong for Game? Well, depending on what sources you read you get different viewpoints. Here is my take on reasons why they could have gone under.

Sky High Prices

Ask any gamer why Game has struggled and they’ll point to one fact: high prices. Game products always had a higher price tag to their competitors. If you think about Amazon and Play.com, they regularly shave a good £10 off of launch day prices. One could argue that with Game you are guaranteed the game before its release date but really who cares when you could be paying as much as £50 a pop.

Shoddy service

I remember the days when I would order from Game and get the game about two days before the release however, when they changed the website the service changed too. It was clunky and difficult to navigate, games would take an age to arrive, orders might go missing etc. Try and complain and you would be told to wait at least 20 days to see if the game would turn up. It’s enough to make you want to hurl your controller.

Better alternatives

Game made the majority of their profit from those looking to trade in their old titles. This was a fine move; some would even say inspired. However they made enemies out of the software giants who wanted more of a cut. Ever wondered why nearly all games require you to purchase an online pass in order to play your pre-owned game online? That is the games company trying to reap more cash from the pre-owned market which arguably Game helped to build. However it was these same enemies who promptly decided to turn their backs when Game was calling out for help like a little baby. Have these enemies pull out the big titles from Games shelves, Fling in a couple of rivals like CEX, and Game was on a slippery path.

Non PC Support

Head into a GAME store and you will see the scarcity of space dedicated to PC gaming. They simply just don’t really cater for PC owners – it’s ridiculous considering that they’re the single dedicated high-street gaming retailer and should be the first physical port of call for all gamers regardless of platform. What’s more nearly all of the titles released that have had a huge impact such as Minecraft and Skyrim, were PC based first and all but the exclusive console games such as Uncharted reach the PC platform eventually.

New Digital Distribution Methods

As fast broadband connectivity continues to spread across the nation, so too does the prevalence of digital download platforms for all sorts of media. Gaming is no different. The Xbox 360 has the Xbox Live Arcade; the PlayStation 3 has the Sony Entertainment Network; the Nintendo Wii has the Wii Shop Channel; PC gamers look to Steam and Gamefly. Some sources have said that the next generation of consoles will not be disc based but Sony have spoken out directly in contradiction to this because of inconsistencies in Broadband quality which means that to take this leap could cut many consumers out of the loop which in turn would effect sales.

Mobile Gaming Is On The Rise

One of the reasons Game could have fallen so badly is the rise of mobile gaming. Whether you have an Android, Windows Phone 7 iPad or iPod touch owner, chances are you’ve got access to more than a few games at your disposal.  As the quality of mobile technology gets greater so does the graphics and so does the gameplay. Right now some people are so addicted to Angry birds that they are writing songs about it – and…erm less interested in Sonic or pesky plumbers and whats more these titles are just a download away – meaning Game cannot make any profit from these sales.

Lack of Passion

In the words of my manager – when the passion is gone, it is time to move on. I have spoken to many gamers since I heard the news about Game – and guess what? Many of them weren’t at all surprised. One lad told me ‘If you go into HMV, there is theatre, excitement, things are fxxxing happening- you go into Game, and sure you can talk to them about games, but the shops are cramped, you cant really play the games and they are not really into it!’ Well, I cant really say any more than that.

We’re All In This Together

Yes – we have heard those words before haven’t we? This may seem like an obvious point but it is a true one. We’re in the middle of a recession, and everyone has less cash to spend on luxuries, which videogames ultimately are. If it’s a choice between a meal and rent payments or a PS3, it’s pretty obvious which choice people are going to make.

Game – The High Street Games Retailer Goes into Administration

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The high street games retailer Game fell headlong into administration today leaving thousands of high street workers faced with losing their jobs and millions of pounds still outstanding to its debtors.

The group, which has 609 stores and 6,000 staff in the UK, has effectively run out of cash and rumour has it that it was unable to meet even its basic rent and wage payments which were due this week.

Staff took to technology websites and forums to express their anger and disappointment at what one called a ’horrible situation’.

The difficulties experienced by Game are testament to the current ‘age of austerity’ marking a squeeze on living costs and a change in shopping habits and games technology. Additionally no further consoles have been released of late so some pundits have pointed at the lack any new technology to get games players excited and into shops.

The retailer had a £21m rent bill due last Sunday and faces an eye watering £12m wage bill this weekend. It is estimated that another £40million owed to suppliers and £10m in VAT seems unlikely be paid.

Administrators said the stores would remain open as it attempts to find a buyer for the business as a growing concern. It seems certain that hundreds of stores will go and thousands of employees will be out of work within weeks.

While the bulk of the Game business is in the UK, with 609 stores and 6,000 staff, there are around 700 other outlets and 7,000 staff in sister chains overseas.

The fate of the company is now in the hands of administrators at PwC. Speaking to the press today – Mike Jervis, joint administrator and partner at PwC, suggested the firm had ‘simply run out of cash’.

Mr Jervis said: ‘The group has faced serious cash-flow and profit issues over the recent past. It also has suffered from high fixed costs, an ambitious international roll-out and fluctuating working capital requirements.’

Poor sales at Christmas led the games giant to signal that losses for the year to the end of January were likely to be around £18million.

However, Mr Jervis insisted there is still demand for a mainstream high street computer games retailer.

‘We believe that there is room for a specialist game retailer in the territories in which it operates, including its biggest one, the UK,’ he said.

‘As a result we are hopeful that a going concern sale of the business is achievable.’

It is understood that the latest financial crisis was triggered when one of Game’s main lenders, the taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland, objected to the terms of a rescue deal with private equity firm OpCapita, which recently bought electrical goods retailer Comet.

Game has suffered dire trading in recent months, which forced it to ask suppliers for more generous trading terms. However, several responded by deciding to protect themselves by refusing to supply the retailer with any new releases, such as Mass Effect 3 and Street Fighter X Tekken.

The group has also been battered by competition from cheaper rivals on the internet, such as Amazon and Play.com, and the major supermarkets.

Separately, many people now download game Apps direct to tablets or smart phones, rather than buying software to be loaded in to consoles like the PlayStation, xBox on Nintendo Wii.

If you visit Games’s official website  you’ll find it “down for maintenance” with a message explaining the company’s gone into administration, who’s been appointed to handle the process and a disclaimer that the company is “currently reviewing and processing orders placed on this website.”

The failure represents the biggest British retail collapse since Woolworths and its 815 stores went under at the end of 2008.