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You are here -> Lifestyle / Gaming Monday, 08 September, 2008
PLANETNOTION TELEVISION!
CAMERA-FOLK AND FILM EDITORS WANTED!
Planet Notion is looking for guys and dolls to film and edit features for its new TV channel, PNTV. Accompanying Notion to artist interviews, gigs, fashion shows, festivals and international events, you will be skilled, passionate and full of ideas about how to produce shit-hot video content. Camera-folk will be experienced and ideally have their own equipment, or at least access to equipment, while editors must be able to turn projects around quickly, and with stylistic flare. If you can both film and edit content, we would especially like to hear from you! These casual, unpaid positions would be ideal for those looking to develop their showreels, and to get the chance to travel, film major artists and top events.
 
Please email lucy@musichqmedia.com if you’re interested in getting involved, cheers!
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Live out your wettest interactive dreams in the digital world of game reviews, Dominic Diamond is locked in our cellar.
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tags: | singstar | singstar review | more...
SingStar Volume 2 (PS3)

What The Fuck: Fast and furious first person shooter that waves two fingers at strategy and storylines and focuses solely on killing other players as quickly as possible. Who The Fuck: Anyone who likes the sound of a cross between Gears Of War and Doom. Why The Fuck: Having launched way back in 1999, Unreal Tournament is the original in redefined online deathmatch gaming. The series is still the standard bearer for anyone seeking quick and easy first person thrills. Arriving eight months late on a console positively bursting with decent first person shooters and lacking key features available on preceding versions, omens weren’t good for the 360 port of Unreal Tournament III. Just spending ten minutes online with this tour-de-force of twitch gaming makes it clear that there was no need to worry. Although Microsoft’s overly fussy policies, preventing mouse and keyboard support and user modifications, have stifled some of the charm found in the PC and PS3 variants, developers Epic have packed in more than enough new features to make up for it. This new 360 version has five exclusive maps, split-screen co-op and a couple of extra steroid-addicted freaks to play as. Given that Epic have also managed to craft a responsive control system for the 360 pad that is easily able to keep up with the furious gun-toting gameplay, it’s a fair trade. The gameplay remains pretty much unchanged since Unreal Tournament first debuted on the PC nearly a decade ago. You run and gun and respawn and run and gun and respawn until your blistered thumbs and bleeding eyes can take no more. Subtle and innovative it is not. Bombastic, fun and seriously addictive, it most certainly is. The number of game modes has actually been pared back since Unreal Tournament 2004 with the unpopular likes of Bombing Run and Onslaught ditched completely. The number of distinct modes now stands at just three (Deathmatch, Capture The Flag and Warfare) with a couple of variations on each (Team Deathmatch, Vehicle Capture The Flag and Duel). After spending plenty of time with the likes of Call Of Duty 4, Halo 3 and Gears Of War, most Live players will find the list a bit restricted, but it’s actually the purity of Unreal Tournament III that makes it the thoroughly enjoyable kill-fest it is. It’s Warfare that Epic is clearly hoping will become the focus of the online experience and it’s certainly attracting the most players on Live at present. The aim is to capture and control various ‘nodes’ dotted around the map, which sounds simple enough but, in reality, success requires a great deal of strategic planning. At first it jars against the notoriously shallow Unreal experience, but the frenetic pace of the brutal vehicular combat more than atones for the slightly convoluted victory conditions. While there is no doubt that Unreal Tournament III is a game to be enjoyed primarily online, it’s clear Epic have invested more effort than ever into the single-player component. Gone is the leaderboard aspect of previous versions, which sadly rather makes the ‘tournament’ in the game’s title redundant. In its place is a Campaign mode that shoehorns versions of the online game’s modes into am hilariously straight-faced macho futuristic war narrative. The bots are canny and unpredictable, but with a limited number of maps and gameplay styles, single-player soon becomes a chore. But it doesn’t really matter. Unreal Tournament has always been about online gaming, and Live matches, which support up to 16 players, prove to be almost 100 percent lag-free, while the 360 is able to cope with the lavishly detailed graphics even during the height of battle. Far from getting lost amongst the mass of shooters on the 360, Unreal Tournament III stands alone. From brilliantly antiquated touches like health and shield power-ups, to the fact that it looks absolutely stunning, the always breakneck and often brainless gameplay on offer here is totally refreshing. James Bassett
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Unreal Tournament III (Xbox 360)
Over the years The Battlefield series has concentrated on perfecting the multiplayer warfare scenario, with many people hailing them as being amongst the best of breed. Battlefield: Bad Company marks the first serious attempt by EA developer - Digital Illusion CE - at creating a true single-player experience out of the franchise. As both action hero and narrator, players take on the role of Preston Marlowe, a rather bland and unassuming character, who instead of being sent to jail for some unnamed crime is assigned to the 222nd Army Battalion, B Company; a collection of misfits and criminals chosen to serve as a first wave of offence in the middle of a fictional war in Eastern Europe. The team eventually goes AWOL after discovering a cache of gold, and inadvertently cross the border into a neutral country, sparking an international incident; at which point they conclude that the only positive resolution to the situation is to secure and make off with the gold. Marlowe's crew is made up of Sarge (Squad leader), the obligatory boss man of the platoon; Sweetwater (Technical and Communications Specialist), the dorky, spectacle wearer who tends to stick to the background during heavy fire fights; and Haggard (Explosives Expert), the hillbilly with a penchant for blowing things up and thinking about the consequences later. With its wide open environments and realistic looking explosions, Bad Company features outstanding visuals and sound, with audio playing a huge part in the game. From the actors filling the roles of your squad mates, yelling at each other as Sergeant Redford tries to get a handle on each situation, through to the explosions and sound of metal parts - working in unison with the guns and the empty bullet casing, echoing inside a building. The voice work is masterfully delivered and keeps the game fun without taking itself too seriously. Overall, Battlefield: Bad Company is an extremely well crafted shooter, mixing a highly entertaining single-player story mode with superb gameplay. Phil Enwonwu Battleffield Bad Company, available on XBox 360 and Playstation 3, is in stores now…
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Battlefield Bad Company (Playstation 3)
It's just not as good using a controller as a mouse and keyboard. There, I said it. I didn't beat around the bush, and I didn't exaggerate the problem. I’ve addressed possibly the most important factor for whether you buy Kane’s Wrath or not given a degree of indecision. You see if you’ve ever played a real time strategy (RTS) game using a mouse and keyboard, the move to using a controller is slow and cumbersome; there’s always going to be a loss of fluidity and a loss of accuracy. But (big but), this isn’t to detract from the interface that has been presented; Kane’s Wrath is possibly the finest RTS I have played on a console. Firstly, the radial interface is a fine attempt at solving many possible nuisances. When mastered, using the left stick to select from a circular menu speeds up selection and the problems encountered when building away from base. Sure, using the analogue sticks loses a certain level of accuracy, but the build of the game is admirably close to the PC version. In addition, the game contains an X-box only set of missions, with 80 or so skirmishes added especially for the 360. It’s nice to have a set of live videos for the new challenges, and with 80 additional missions, it feels like EA have really gone to the effort of making the game especially for the console user. However, the 13 missions in the main campaign, where you play as Nod supporting a newly resurrected/resurfaced Kane, are quite tough, and feel a little short for a stand alone. It may disappoint some that the original missions from the PC game aren't included, but the addition of skirmishes and Kane's Challenge should keep most happy. The mission designs are very similar to previous builds and previous RTS games. If you liked C&C 3 and the C&Cs that came before, then the usual line-up of build so much you crush em' , or build your super weapon unit ASAP or die, are all there to enjoy. Granted, there aren't really any real innovations with cartography or mission structures, but who cares? You see, the game is extremely fluid and runs astoundingly well, with frame rate dropping only when you really try to push it. I take my hat off to an excellent engine. Sure, the plot is a little sci-fi fanboy, with Joe Kucan returning as Kane and the addition of Natasha Henstridge as Alex, and it’s a tad disappointing not to get the context of the story from the original game… But, in the end, it’s not the story that will bring you back to the game; it’s the gameplay. Those who enjoy RTS sims and can handle using a control pad will enjoy what is a valiant attempt at domesticating a wild animal of a PC game. Ed Breakenridge
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Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath (Xbox 360)
From the minute I put the X-Box controller down, shaking with euphoria at the end of Halo: Combat Evolved, I’ve been waiting impatiently for the next installment; the first Halo game on a new generation of consoles. The good news is that it’s finally here. The bad news is that I’m shaking like Michael Moore’s rump. Again. From the first time you step out into the sunlight to slay Brutes foolish enough to use Sergeant Johnson as bait, to the first time you realise that shooting a grenade on the floor will blow it up, Halo 3 shimmers and glows, reflects and absorbs and grabs hold of you, threatening never to relinquish it's grip. It made me buy an X-Box 360; it made me take 3 days off work to play it; it made me sweat; it made me laugh; it made me cry out in anger; but it never made me regret any of these. It’s a masterpiece. When I first completed Halo: Combat Evolved on legendary, I got a sense of satisfaction seldom felt when playing computer games; the feeling that you have been a part of something special that you'll remember for a long time. Eternity even. Few games can claim this - maybe some Miyamoto classics, or Link and a certain princess possibly, but Halo 3 joins this short list. You see, all share a sense of completeness; a combination of interaction, story-telling, graphics and sound; control and skill being conducted together to create an experience that the programmers truly envisaged you to be a part of. Halo redefined the first-person shooter and Halo 3 very much follows in its footsteps. If you didn't like Halo then you won't like Halo 3; if you don't like first-person shooters then you won't like Halo 3; but that’s not to say you won't appreciate the engineering that has gone into it. Every texture, every barrel and every enemy placed; every voice and every instrument sampled for the soundtrack and audio; the story; the camera angles; the experience; all have all been crafted with the greatest care and attention to detail. This was meant to be played 1000 times, again and again, to give a different experience each time. The A.I is frighteningly intuitive at times. High ranking Brutes order lower ranking Grunts to flush you out with grenades and the enemies will try to out flank you if you hold back with suppressive fire. Grunts will run at you on kamikaze missions with 2 lit plasma grenades; Brutes will surprise you with their ability to avoid fire; Brute Chieftains will terrify you in ways that Commander Elites never could. The only complaint would be that the game just isn’t long enough… At first it’s remarkable how easily you slip into the Halo 'zone' again: the balance of the weapons; the importance of targeting certain enemies in a group first; the grenades under their feet before you wade into battle; the Chief being the same faceless arbiter of your desires… But the sheer scale of the battles really sets the game apart. We’re talking epic! As with Halo 2, for whom the multiplayer was the saving grace, the multiplayer in Halo 3 will probably survive decades of group-play gaming. The maps are being updated and upgraded all the time thanks to the online resource's remarkable testament to the quality of action. Up to 250,000 people regularly play online at any one time (as long as America is awake), making Halo 3 one of the finest multiplayer games on the market. Perhaps you'll have trouble choosing which weapon to wade into battle with and you'll have to adjust to disliking Brutes as much as you did the Elites because they lack the grace that the Elites had, but they bring a fresh character of their own to the battles and by the end they will have earnt your respect just as the Elites did 7 years ago. You should buy Halo 3 if you don't have it. You should savour it; embrace it; marvel at its achievements. It's what Halo was and so much more. Ten times over. Ed Breakenridge
tags: | halo 3 | more...
Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/Xbox 360)
Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/Xbox 360)
01/07/2008
Believe it or not, there was a time not long ago when video games weren't just sociopathic murder fantasies. But, of course, the epoch-defining release of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001 changed all that. Now all anybody gives a shit about is what sort of guns you can wield, how much stuff you can blow up, how often the characters swear and how many whores you fuck. Naturally, the answer Grand Theft Auto IV gives to all these questions is: lots. But thanks to the brilliant minds at Rockstar, it manages to do it all with consummate style. While Vice City centred on Tony Montana rip-off Tommy Vercetti, in the garish surrounds of mid-80s Miami, and San Andreas allowed the player to control CJ, in Boyz In The Hood-ish early-90s Los Angeles, IV's anti-hero, Niko Bellic, arrives in cynical, brutal, loveless and present day New York-aping Liberty City. Niko – straight off the boat from Serbia – meets up with his cousin, Roman, and is quickly given access to a mobile phone and the internet. Rather like Ashley Cole and Jermaine Pennant, GTA IV uses the mobile phone in inspired fashion, allowing you to access missions, organise activities with friends, arrange dates or simply shoot the breeze. The internet is used in a much less interesting ways. You receive the odd email from other characters and from the family back in Serbia, plenty of unfunny spam, the opportunity to read news reports about the havoc you're wreaking around Liberty City and access to an online dating service. All nice touches, certainly, but you sense there was much more Rockstar could've done with it; that the GTA series hasn't taken the opportunity to offer pornography on its in-game internet is downright head scratching. There are a couple of other new additions to the series. Cars aren't all magically unlocked now, so stealing them often requires smashing the window, setting off the alarm and hot-wiring them. This will obviously make you more visible to the police, so the ability to use Roman's car service or hail taxis is useful. The cabs can be used to instantly transport you to your destination but you'll pay more for the privilege. It's a neat idea that solves the series-long problem of having to drive infuriatingly long distances to missions, but like, say, Oblivion, it does stop you exploring the city as much as you might otherwise. It's the combat that has undergone the biggest refinements, and it's now finally possible to target enemies accurately and instantly using the shoulder buttons. Hey, Ocarina Of Time managed to get it right in 1996, but whatever. The new cover system is handy too, but it's nowhere near as sophisticated as Rainbow Six's and far too often you'll find Niko glued to the wrong surface and promptly bukkaked by billions of bullets. But it’s Liberty City and the people within it that are the game's biggest success. Unlike San Andreas or Vice City, you genuinely feel for this world and its inhabitants. Not only is Niko the series' first vaguely sympathetic character, but the supporting cast of gangstas, government agents, steroid addicts and Rastafarians is dripping in diversity and charisma. While you listen to Iggy Pop, Roy Ayers and Juliette Lewis talking about your actions on Liberty City's myriad of radio stations, your friends will call you to go bowling, play pool, or simply go out and get drunk. The more you hang out with your friends, the more likely they are to provide you with work; but the conversations ebb and flow so brilliantly that you'll want to natter with them anyway. Dates, meanwhile, will compliment or diss your choice of clothing and venue. Liberty City is certainly inspired by New York, but not totally beholden to it. Unlike most game worlds, far from feeling like it only began existing the second you turned on your console, Liberty City looks and feels lived in. Drive to the affluent areas of Algonquin and the streets are newly paved, the cars more expensive, the police more plentiful; but take a trip to downtown Bohan and crack dealers, prostitutes and heroin addicts litter the streets. It’s a good thing that the scripting and the characterisation are as good as they are, because the missions themselves are a bit of a letdown. Seven years on from GTA III and it's still a matter of driving to a point on the map, watching a cut-scene, driving off to a mission, completing it and saving. Rockstar have added some new dynamics, such as eavesdropping or using the camera phone to identify the right target but there are far too many missions that see you chasing the target using the kind of gameplay Taito perfected in 1988 with Chase HQ. It would've been nice to see the developers tinker more boldly with their well-worn format, but the dialogue goes a long way to preventing things becoming stale, and Rockstar should be congratulated for creating the most coherent and atmospheric gameworld ever seen. Of course, to enjoy GTA IV you will need to ignore the fact that it's a mass-marketed piece of hyper-violent mysogynism being cynically targeted at teenagers, but that's another story.
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Super Bikes Riding Challenge
Super Bikes Riding Challenge
01/12/2006
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Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
01/12/2006
With a unique tongue-in-cheek take on the Original Trilogy, LEGO Star Wars II follows the Rebel Alliance’s crusade to dismantle the Galactic Empire and rebuild a galaxy in pieces. Build and battle your way through your favourite film moments, from Darth Vader’s pursuit of Princess Leia aboard her Blockade Runner to a showdown on the second Death Star, as the game includes even more of the family-friendly action, puzzles and humour that earned the original LEGO Star Wars such popularity and acclaim. For the first time ever, characters can get in and out of vehicles, as well as ride creatures. You can also mix and match the body parts of more than 50 playable characters to create one of millions of possible Star Wars heroes. Other exciting additions include free-roaming vehicle levels that are no longer on rails, the ability to switch ships at will in free play, cool new character-specific attacks and manoeuvres, playable mini-kit vehicles, an optional adaptive difficulty mode and more. PS2/XBOX, Activision, RRP £39.99
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Dead Rising
Dead Rising
01/11/2006
Dead Rising sees you step into the shoes of journalist and photographer, Frank West. Following an unknown tip-off, Frank finds himself investigating a mysterious zombie epidemic in small town America. Set in the town’s shopping mall, the first thing that strikes you is the minutely detailed, high resolution graphics. This is one seriously good looking game. Extended play soon reveals however that the gameplay is really at the heart of this gaming experience. The power of the 360 has allowed developers Capcom to fill the screen with thousands of the shuffling undead. The real joy in the gameplay comes from finding inventive ways to bring them down. Do you hit golf balls at them with a club from the sports shop? Put buckets on their heads and laugh out loud as you see them blundering around in the dark? Or simply find the lawnmower and watch the limbs fly! The malls' 120 shops provide over 200 make-shift, and often hilarious weapons. There is a standard storyline that sees you rescuing survivors and getting the scoop on the zombie infestation, but with an infrequent and often frustrating save system, you will find yourself whiling away the hours putting zombies out of their misery. Dead Rising is an absolute blast and is a game that will be appreciated by fans of any George.A.Romero film or those that like their gaming with a heavy dose of gore and humour. For me it's time to go back to the mall, the hardware store had a sale on chainsaws! XBox 360, Capcom, RRP £49.99
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Prey
Prey
01/10/2006
Although it was announced more than a decade ago this demonstrates that the best things really do come to those that wait, with the most original and technically advanced first person shoot 'em-up in years. Although it was conceived at a time when 3D graphics cards were still optional the basic idea behind the Prey portal technology is still the same as it ever was, allowing you to instantly step from one world to another in the game. You can even create the portals yourself as you battle grotesque enemy bosses in one area and jump back to another to recover. The game casts you as a Cherokee Indian with a number of magical powers such as spirit walking that let you explore the game world as a spirit, and deathwalk which replaces the normal need for intrusive quick saves with an innovative mini-game set between the worlds of the living and the dead. XBOX 360, Take 2 Interactive, RRP £49.99
tags: | prey | more...
Titan Quest
Titan Quest
01/10/2006
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New Super Mario Bros
New Super Mario Bros
01/09/2006
Considering the last Super Mario Bros. game is still the best selling video game of all time (17.28 million copies and counting) this has a lot to live up to, but it almost effortlessly captures the action and charm of the old games. The basics of the game are the same as always as you run and jump through mostly horizontally scrolling levels. New to the game are power-ups that turn Mario into a giant or reduce his size, as well as one that gives him a Koopa shell on his back to attack enemies with. Although the gameplay is all in two dimensions the graphics are 3D, with all new moves such as the triple jump and wall jump added in as well. As well as the single player mode there's also a wireless multiplayer mode where you get to battle a friend (as Luigi) across a whole bunch of specially designed levels. DS, Nintendo, RRP £29.99
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Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
01/09/2006
The streets of Liberty City are in turmoil. Warring Mafiosi vie for control as the town begins to self-destruct under waves of political corruption, organised crime, drug trafficking and union strikes. No one can be trusted as Toni tries to clean up the mess of the city’s chaotic underworld. Deranged hitmen, morally depraved tycoons, cynical politicians and his own mother stand in his way as he tries to bring the city under control. Forced to fight for his life in an odyssey that will shake Liberty City to its foundations, Toni must use any means necessary to secure his place in the leadership of the Leone family in a town up for grabs. It's easy to see why this is so far the only gaming to be ported from the PSP to the PS2, since this is basically a whole new Grand Theft Auto game, even if it does take place in the same city as one of the previous games. The missions are exactly the same as in the PSP version, which means they're slightly shorter than usual - originally so as to be better suited to a portable format. PS2, ROCKSTAR, RRP £19.99
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