Press Release - Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Finale Takes Game to the Green

In series finale "The Bogey Man," a long-buried mystery could mean the end of West Wallaby Street as we know it!

SAN RAFAEL, CA, July 30, 2009 -- The final episode of Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures releases today, completing a four-month escapade that has taken the famous inventor and his faithful pooch through a madcap series of wild and engaging new stories. Available today for PC at http://www.telltalegames.com/, "The Bogey Man" puts Wallace's mechanical and social skills -- not to mention his golf swing -- to the test. Filled with unrequited romance, hidden mysteries, perplexing contraptions, and a heavy dose of comic relief, "The Bogey Man" brings the series to an exciting climax in grand Wallace & Gromit style.

In the previous episode, Wallace inadvertently got down on one knee before his prim neighbor Felicity Flitt -- who interpreted the gesture as a marriage proposal. In a twisted plot true to Wallace & Gromit form, his only chance for a reprieve is admission into the prestigious Prickly Thicket country club, an association distained by the Flitt family due to a centuries-old dispute. It seems like the perfect escape, but once Wallace is admitted into the club, he learns of a much larger mystery that must be solved to protect the West Wallaby Street lifestyle he and Gromit hold dear. Built by Wallace and Gromit's own ancestors, the club itself is a grand machine in the style of Wallace's own inventions, and its mechanical inner-workings hide a secret that must be recovered to return life back to normal. Only Wallace and Gromit have the technical know-how to unlock the mysteries protected by this contraption to top all contraptions!

Over the last four months, Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures has taken the heroes through exciting new stories -- from a honey business plagued by giant problems (and giant bees!), to a whodunit set at an underground beach resort in Wallace's cellar, to a heartwarming tale of canine wiles triumphing over an oily villain's greedy deceit. Today's release represents the first time the complete episodic series is available on PC, making now the ideal time for new players to dive in and enjoy all four Grand Adventures stories.

Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures made its debut on Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade this spring with Fright of the Bumblebees, which can be downloaded for 800 Microsoft points. The series is due to complete its Xbox LIVE Arcade run in the coming months, with the official release date announcements expected shortly.

Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures has been just one of numerous recent highlights for the characters, who are celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year. Their highly successful short film, A Matter of Loaf and Death, has been airing around the globe since its triumphant Christmas debut and will begin distribution in the US on DVD this coming fall. The pair are also featuring in 'Wallace & Gromit present A World of Cracking Ideas', a major exhibition celebrating innovation at the Science Museum in London. Telltale's Wallace & Gromit games are designed for the same all-ages audience as the duo's other endeavors and will be enjoyed by gamers and non-gamers alike.

Customers can purchase the complete set of Wallace & Gromit games from http://www.telltalegames.com/ for $34.95. This purchase includes the option to receive a Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Collector's DVD containing the four games plus bonus content for just the cost of shipping, to be released shortly. Individual Wallace & Gromit episodes can be purchased for $8.95. Telltale is also introducing an upgrade offer today, which allows customers who own one of the individual episodes to get the remainder of the series for only $19.95. Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures includes subtitles in German, French, Italian, and Spanish. To buy the games for PC or download the free demo, visit:

http://www.telltalegames.com/wallaceandgromit.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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First Thoughts - AI War

I was recently contacted be an indie game developer about his game AI War. I probably won't be able to get a full review done for a bit, but here's my initial impression...

AI Wars is an RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game set in space. The basic background is that after many wars, mankind finally learned to live in peace with each other - unfortunately the artificial intelligence war machines that humans have created aren't going to stop fighting. This is not a game for the faint-hearted; each campaign is estimated to last about 10-12 hours. There is no storyline mode, which to me is a bit of a shame (I prefer to have an overall objective in the games I play, but that's just personal preference), but the scope for variety in the game is practically endless. The maps are absolutely massive - you're basically talking about a a hunderd or so star systems per campaign.

The game has multiplayer capacity - you can host a game with up to 8 players, though I'm not sure how the game handles saving / loading what's going on if that's the case (real-time would mean everyone has to be online simultaneously, so what if someone loses their connection or has to leave the game for another reason?), though I've only tried a single-player game so far. There's no PVP mode which may disappoint some, but I actually quite like the fact that you have to cooperate against the AI - which fits in well with the storyline the game is set against.

The interface works very well, it takes a bit of getting used to as you'd expect, but the game is very well designed. The graphics are 2D and sometimes can look a little cluttered when you have hundreds of ships clustered in the same area, but judicious use of the zoom helps this. The way the ships group, move and regroup is pretty cool - rather like a shoal of fish (only with lasers and stuff). The backgrounds look great and the ships do as well, when you're zoomed in enough to see them properly. The music is good though I'm not quite sure it always really fits the game.

Overall AI War is a game very much for RTS purists - I can't see newcomers to the genre being able to cope with the immense scale and complexity of it all to be honest. It's obviously best-suited for people who like open-ended games as well, though I have to say that I enjoyed the game very much even without a set campaign mode. The AI is very important in this game - there are a huge number of different levels / types of opponent you can face, and without giving too much away about how it works, the way you play the game will genuinely affect the AI's actions in the game.

If you've been looking for a challenging, detailed RTS that will fill your strategy needs for a long time, and particularly if you have a few friends who would want to join you in your battle against the AI, then this could very well be what you've been looking for.

Head over to the Arcen Games Website for more information and to download the trial verion.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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More on New Star Soccer 4

Well, I've finally reached the Premiership. at the age of 24 and worth around £9m, I'm finally hitting the big time. Just waiting for my international call-up now!

Though I only gave it 7/10 due to certain niggles and sometimes poor stability under Vista 64-bit, I have to admit that I've played New Star Soccer 4 more than anything else for a long time. If you like footie games, you really should give it a go. Visit this page to download the demo.

Related Links:

PC Game Review - New Star Soccer 4

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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First Thoughts - NeverWinter Nights

Well, aside from a couple of odd but rather unimportant bugs (the descriptions on the character creation screens seem to forget what gender you are, and the character accompanying me at the moment seems to have a habit of walking where the ceiling would be if you could see it!), this promises to be a very good game. I'm playing a half-orc character, and I like the way this influences the way your character speaks. The action works well and there are loads of options; I haven't even begun to explore the possibilities yet. Not too happy about the way the camera angle jerks around, but I probably need to play around with the settings to solve that problem.

More on this soon...

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Next Up... Neverwinter Nights - Platinum Edition

Well it looks like I may take a while to review the next game I purchased recently, since it's not only got a single-player campaign of 60+ hours, but also comes with two expansion packs which take about 20 hours to complete. All this without even experimenting with multiplayer online play, the many official and unofficial mods that abound on the next, and making my own stuff with the built-in editor...

See you in 100+ hours?!? I'm sure I can fit in a few more game reviews before this big one though - after all Tales of Monkey Island has got off to a really good start, the series finale of Wallace & Gromit Grand Adventures is coming soon, and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition of course must be played... Just don't expect a full review of Neverwinter Nights too soon, though I will of course post my first impressions etc. Since I loved Bioware's KOTOR games, I'm pretty sure I'll love Neverwinter Nights as well...

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Video Game Graphics to Walk Around In!

We all love playing computer games, but have you ever thought about wearing them? T-shirts aside, I don't remember seeing much in the way of video game inspired clothing. A regular reader of my blog (so he claimed...!) pointed out the Brass Monki site to me, where customised footware is on display - trainers as we Brits call them, "Sneakers" according to our American cousins, and "Tackies" according to my South African relatives. Anyway, just so that we're all sure what they are, you've got a picture of one... not all of Brass Monki's trainers (sneakers / tackies) are video-game related, but a good few are, and the pictured Ken/Ryu pair from Street Fighter 2, and ones based on Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog and Nintendo's Mario caught my eye.

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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PC Game Review - Super Laser Racer - the world's first review of this game?!?!

I feel a little bit special right now... I think I may be the first person in the world to review Super Laser Racer! If I’m wrong... don’t tell me!

Anyway, Super Laser Racer is the latest offering from New Star Games, a demo’s already out but the full version becomes available on Friday 24th July. Thanks to the marvels of getting a review copy, I’m able to tell you about the full version now.

“Super Laser Racer” is, as you might have guessed, a futuristic racing game, viewed from overhead. With nods to Wipeout and similar games, you can get weapons to aid in your bid to finish first. Weapons and other bonuses such as shields and turbo boosts can be picked up at various points on the track. There are 12 tracks, and you take your place on the grid with 11 opponents. There are 3 difficulty levels; Easy really offers no challenge, Normal offers little challenge, and Hard will make you work for your points. There are 4 tournaments to compete in – 3 of 4 tracks, the final tournament consisting of all 12 tracks. There are plenty of unlockable features – all 12 types of ship can be unlocked to race with – though to be honest if you’re relatively determined, it won’t take you long to unlock everything.

The gameplay itself is very good – controls are simple and responsive, and the action flows very nicely. The graphics are extremely retro and full of nice touches and effects. The music is very good and there is some synthesised speech to accompany the action. Imagine Asteroids crossed with Starglider and mixed with Supercars. Or something. The game can be made more challenging by lowering the view height; the game is much easier when you can see more of the track. In Hard mode with lots of competitors fireing weapons at the same time things can get a little hectic. When you get hit badly your ship will lose controllability for a short time; lose all your energy and you’ll be disqualified. There are areas you can go through – a little slower than elsewhere – that will recharge your shields – it’s almost like making a pit stop.

Super Laser Racer is the perfect coffee-break game; great for a five minute blast, though not really a long-term challenge. It’s one of those titles that has little longevity but massive replay value, and every so often you’ll be back playing it again. At ten dollars (minus a cent) you’re not playing a lot for a game that will give you a lot of enjoyment.

I’m not convinced that having 12 ships with different attributes adds that much to the game – you’ll probably find yourself using the same one most of the time. 12 tracks doesn’t seem like much but there’s a track editor with the game so there should be plenty more to come. To me the biggest drawback is the lack of a multiplayer mode – even a simple 2-player mode (would probably have to be split-screen) would add greatly to the game.

As it is, Super Laser Racer is a simple idea executed almost perfectly. If a multiplayer mode, either on or offline, becomes available at a later date then it would improve the game significantly; as it is I’ll give it a rating of 6/10, as a perfect coffee-break game but with limited long-term challenge. New Star Games have earned themselves a great reputation for creating extremely playable games, and Super Laser Racer will definitely enhance that reputation further.

Related posts:

Screenshots from Super Laser Racer
Press Release - SUPER LASER RACER - On sale July 24th - Demo out now

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Screenshots from Super Laser Racer

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Press Release - SUPER LASER RACER - On sale July 24th - Demo out now

SUPER LASER RACER - On sale July 24th - Demo out now

Oxford, UK – July 21, 2009 – New Star Games are excited to announce that Super Laser Racer will be on sale on July 24th 2009 for $9.99. The demo versions for PC and Mac are available now from www.newstargames.com.

Super Laser Racer is an exciting top-down combat racing game inspired by Geometry Wars and WipeOut. It features 12 tracks, 12 unlockable racers, 4 tournaments, Eliminator and Survivor race modes, online leaderboards and a full track editor to design and race on your own tracks. Please contact Simon Read for a review copy.

About New Star Games Ltd.
New Star Games is a small independent gaming company based in Oxford, UK. Please visit www.newstargames.com for more information.

CaptainD says... just downloaded my review copy, will give my first impressions very soon!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Interview with Sean Vanaman (TellTale Games)

I sent some questions about the new Tales of Monkey Islands games to TellTale Games, and here are the answers from Sean Vanaman, writer on upcoming Tales of Monkey Island episodes.

When it comes to adventure games, Monkey Island is about as iconic as it gets – did you feel daunted about the prospect of following in the footsteps of Ron Gilbert and co?
Definitely. I was always the one, when around all of my gamer friends (and co-workers), who would go on and on and on about Monkey Island. Without Monkey Island (and the other adventure games spawned by Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman) I don't even know if I'd be in the industry. So...yes. Luckily, Dave is now my boss (and studio Design Director) at Telltale, so he would never let us get too far off course. Writing a Monkey Island game was both a huge challenge, and also the most fun and freeing project I've been a part of. Having been such a huge fan of the games (especially LeChuck's Revenge) I had a decent grip on what's allowed in a Monkey Island game, and from there I could just be funny and try to add to an already great story. And with Mike Stemmle, Mark Darin and the rest of the design team backing you up, it makes it a lot easier.

What was the biggest challenge in envisaging the plot and characters?
The biggest challenge is getting the design to reinforce the story and vice-versa. I've always liked how in the Monkey Island games, what you're doing feels motivated (even if the puzzles are convoluted). What Guybrush wants is readily apparent, and that makes it easy to keep focused on the goal of the moment. He wants to be a pirate, therefore, you want to be a pirate. How do you become a pirate? Go talk to three guys in a bar and they'll send you on three trials. A pretty lady catches his eye, therefore, she catches yours. She gets taken and you both want to get her back. You might find yourself wandering through the world looking for a monkey wrench, but you never forget what you should be doing in any given moment. Maintaining that is the biggest challenge.

The story is said to take place sometime after the end of LeChuck’s Revenge – is this a “reboot” where the events of The Curse of and Escape from Monkey Island are irrelevant, or will it link in with those games too?
The five "chapters" of Tales of Monkey Island tell the story that happens after the presupposed "Monkey Island 5," which, as far as gamers are concerned, never existed. Tales of Monkey Island starts with an epic ship battle, which the player can assume is the end of a big 40 hour (in gameplay hours) adventure. Because Telltale is in the business of making smaller episodic titles (which, when combined equal a larger epic) we're not telling that story -- we're telling a brand new one that old and new gamers can hop into and dig.
So, all four of the previous games play a role in informing the canon of the Tales of Monkey Island world. For instance, Murray is going to show up and we'll reference events from the past games. For fans of the original games, they can be in on the references, and for newcomers, we put everything in context so you never feel out of the loop or out of the joke. We want everyone IN the jokes. And there are many.

Without revealing any secrets, what is your favourite part of the first episode?
At one point, Guybrush is restrained by a madman. The puzzle, the story, and the environment of this scene just blow my mind. [Having played the game, I have to say that's one of my favourite parts too]

Will Guybrush ever get to be a Mighty Pirate, or will he continue to be the loser we all know and love?
Somewhere in between? He's had some success in the past games, (thanks to the player guiding him through some epic adventures) so I wouldn't quite say he's a loser. But at the same time, he's not an action hero. He's a sharp-witted character who finds a way to succeed in the end. I like that.

I'd just like to thank Sean for sending his answers and Emily in PR for arranging this!

See also: PC Game Review - Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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PC Game Review - Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal

Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal is a fantastic game. TellTale’s pedigree in the adventure game field is by now very well established, with the great Sam & Max games, the Strong Bad episodes and Wallace & Gromit’s first episode soon to draw to a conclusion. What’s even better is that much of the same programming team and voice cast that made the original Monkey Island games great are working on this too.

Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate, is in a bit of trouble – his wife Elaine is held hostage by the dreaded zombie pirate LeChuck, and only an enchanted cutlass can save the day. Fortunately Guybrush has just such an enchanted cutlass... unfortunately, being him, things don’t quite´go according to plan and he ends up with a demon hand, a human LeChuck, and himself stranded on Flotsam Island without a ship. Still, that doesn’t really matter, since the winds all blow inwards so no-one who lands on the island can escape...

With a great plot that pays homage to the original Monkey Island games while being unique in its own right, Tales of Monkey Island Episode One also benefits from some great puzzles including combining inventory items (the one notable disappointment of the Sam & Max episodes was the lack of these) and bucketloads of humour. There are lots of in-jokes for fans of the Monkey Island games, but also plenty for newcomers to enjoy, including lots of pop culture references. This makes it one of those rare games that’s almost as much fun to watch as to play. In fact you may find yourself repeating actions even though you know they won’t achieve anything just to watch what happens again.

The voice acting is superb, the music’s great and the colourful, detailed visuals suit the game perfectly. The 3D environment, which somehow didn’t quite work in Escape from Monkey Island, is perfect here. So, it plays great, it looks great, it sounds great... what else do you need to know?

Well, I guess you’ll want to know about the interface. Interfaces in adventure games are invariably a thorny subject for PC gamers if any company dares to do something a bit different to the traditional fully mouse-controlled system that we know and love. For the Tales of Monkey Islands games, TellTale have adopted a hybrid system – you can use solely the mouse, though controlling Guybrush’s movements is a little tricky if you do. You get used to it surprisingly quickly, but in some puzzles which require a lot of specific movements, you’ll probably end up using the keyboard. Otherwise you’ll only need the keyboard for accessing the menu (escape) or getting Guybrush to run (shift). All in all, not quite perfect but a very acceptable interface.

The other thing you should know about Launch of the Screaming Narwhal is that it’s pretty long for an episode game. I’m not quite sure but it seemed longer than any of the Sam & Max episodes; certainly you get a lot more gameplay for your money than with the Wallace & Gromit episodes.

All in all, this is a very, very promising start to the first season of Tales of Monkey Island.

Rating: 9/10 + Mega-Monkey Bonus!



CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Tales of Monkey Island Competition

Thos fine peopel over at TellTale Games have had the idea of hosting a competition... you come up with a line of dialogue, and those that get the most votes will be included in an episode of Tales of Monkey Island.

See my first entry here - and vote for it, if you like. Was the best I could come up with at the time, those who remember the first game should definitely know where it's come from!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Released!

Yes folks, the game we've all (well, almost all) of us have been waiting for has been released! Monkey Island Special Edition is now available for download from Steam, and amazingly enough it only costs £6.99!

Steam Download Link for The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

(In case you were wondering... no, I won't get a commision if you download through that link, it's just a straight link to the product page and I don't have an affiliate account.)

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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LucasArts to revive Classic Catalogue

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — July 6, 2009 [sorry I'm a bit late with this!]— Fans have asked and LucasArts has delivered! Today the company announced a new initiative in its effort to revive its classic and beloved franchises by making its games available for the first time ever as digital downloads online.

In this first round of releases, ten fan-favorite LucasArts PC games will be made available Wednesday, July 8 on Steam®, Valve Corporation's delivery and management platform for the PC. Scheduled for release are classic adventure titles like LOOM and The Dig and hit action games including Star Wars Battlefront II and Star Wars Republic Commando.

The complete list of games to be released on July 8 via Steam includes:

• Armed and Dangerous™


• Indiana Jones® and the Fate of Atlantis


• Indiana Jones® and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure


• LEGO® Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure
  
• LOOM™


• Star Wars Battlefront® II


• Star Wars Republic Commando®


• Star Wars Starfighter™


• The Dig®


• Thrillville®: Off the Rails™



“This effort is going to make it possible to introduce a whole new generation of gamers to LucasArts’ classic games,” said Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts. “It also gives more people a chance to play our games by making them available long after they’ve disappeared from store shelves. We hope our fans are as excited as we are about our plans and we can’t wait to share what’s coming next. This is just the beginning.”

Great news for fans of LucasArts games who might have missed some of their earlier offerings...



These games aren't that difficult to get hold of anyway though, if you look through the bargain basement and second-hand games sections in Game, Gamestation or HMV. I've picked up Battlefront 2, Armed and Dangerous and Republic Commando very cheaply recently - though I haven't yet got round to playing the latter two. Already have LEGO Indiana Jones and The Dig, though I'll be very happy to be able to play Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade again - though surely they'll be doing a remastered version of that particular classic?! We can but hope... and as they say, "this is only the beginning"...



CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Gah... I'm starting to wish I lived in America...

... in the last couple of days I've been invited by two major software houses to arrange a meeting with them at upcoming gaming conventions - pity they're in America while I'm in the UK. Anyone fancy paying my air fare?

Thought not...

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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PC Game Review - Keepsake

Set in a school where all the students have mysteriously disappeared, a young woman who should be starting her training must discover the secrets of a strange academy - and the plot that has engulfed it. After briefly being introduced to the basic game mechanics by a rather irritating character, Lydia (that's you) sets off in search of answers. Before long she finds a young dragon - so he claims, though currently he's in the form of a wolf - who seems to be the only inhabitant of the academy to have been untouched by whatever happened. He tags along, occasionally helping Lydia, though for a dragon he sure seems to be afraid of a lot of things. After a while Lydia will come across the keepsake she gave her best friend Celeste - who was supposed to meet her on her arrival at school - visions start to come to Lydia, helping her understand what's been going on - though there always seem to be more questions than answers...

Keepsake is a brave idea that doesn't quite come off... combining a traditional third-person adventure game with a Myst-type game. Since I'm a huge fan of the former and don't like the latter, I guess for me it was mostly going to depend on how much of each type of game element was used in this. While it certainly contains elements of an adventure game, but nothing in the way of working out what items to use on each other - if you have the right key and try to open the door, for instance, you will use the right key automatically. Basically the game is a series of logic puzzles held together by the main storyline.

The storyline is in fact very good and the game has bags of atmosphere; it really pulling you into the plot. The characters (although few in number) are well developed and the main character reacts believably to things. The background graphics are beautifully rendered; while the character animation isn't always that great, the quality of the backdrops is always superb. The ambient sound effects are good, the music suitably medieval-sounding, and the voice acting is usually pretty good. It sounds wrong here and there - the stress on words and timing of pauses is occasionally a bit weird, but in general the voicing is good and Lydia doesn't sound too annoying. (She comes close once or twice, but Secret Files: Tunguska is infinitely more irritating.)

The trouble is that you have these great backgrounds... and almost nothing to do in them. Therefore much of the game consists of walking or running through screen after screen of wonderful graphics, but precious little to actually do - and though there are one or two shortcuts, getting from where you are to where you need to be can be a painfully slow process. There is a vaguely helpful in-game map that you can bring up at any time, but this only partially alleviates the problem.

There is also an in-game help function, which generally shows you where you need to go next in the main game, and explains how puzzles work if you're in the middle of a logic puzzle (it does not, however, tell you how to complete the puzzles, so it doesn't make the game too easy). Generally there are two levels of hints. This is a nice feature and I used it a few times, mostly due to curiosity, sometimes because I couldn't quite work out what I was supposed to be doing next. The logic puzzles vary in difficulty but some are very tough, and I must shamefacedly admit to looking for the solution online to a couple of them.

Overall while it looks and sounds great, and the plot will keep you interested, Keepsake is lacking in the most crucial aspect - game play. There just isn't enough to do as you wander around hundreds (literally, I think) of screens getting from A to B. The interface was great but really you don't need to actually use it very often. To me, it would have been better with more adventure game elements; if however you're a fan of the Myst games (considering it's one of the best-selling PC games of all time, there must be a few!), I think you'll enjoy it a lot more.

Giving this a rating has proved difficult... viewed more as a slightly interactive movie than a game, I did enjoy it - sort of. Much as I admire what the game's designers (Wicked Studios - this was their debut release) were trying to do and the effort that went into it, however, I don't feel it's worth more than 5/10. Unless you're more into Myst type games than I am, I wouldn't particularly recommend it.


Minimum System Specs:

CPU: Pentium III
RAM: 256Mb
HDD Space: 1.4Gb
DirectX: 9.0c
OS: Windows Me/2000/NT/XP (It ran fine on Vista 64-bit once I'd installed the latest official patches - visit the Official Keepsake Website to get them)

Age Rating (PEGI): 7+ (rated "E for Everyone" in the States, I think)

Tested on: Packard Bell iPower X9810

If you want to read a review that seems contradicts pretty much every opinion I put forward here (!), see this GameSpot review - I find it interesting how two people can get such completely different things from the same game.


For more traditional adventure gaming fun, see:

My Top Ten Commercial Graphical Adventure Games

My Top Ten Freeware Adventure Games

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Hmm...

...

Well, I'm still not quite sure about how much of a scam Evony is, but they've certainly proved one thing - that their marketing strategy permanently revolves around one word.

Cleavage.

They seemed to be going away from it when the game had left its public beta, but after a short absence, breasts were back with a vengeance. Hey, you mean there's a game too?!

Much as my break from Evony was because I grew tired of it, I'm becoming more suspicious of them, and certainly several comments on my review strongly criticise the game as a scam. I'm just wondering though... does anyone have any actual hard data to support this? If so leave a comment pointing to it...

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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Tales of Monkey Island

Not ready to review it quite yet, but a few things you'll want to know about the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island by TellTale Games (in association with LucasArts):

• The humour and spirit of the previous Monkey Island games is captured very well


• Guybrush and Elaine's relationship has softened rather - Elaine even seems to quite like her husband now


• There are some good puzzles, and definitely not all easy ones


• It looks very nice with a distinctive style that works very well (although the camera angles sometimes get a bit awkward)

The interface certainly takes some getting used to (in terms of moving Guybrush if you're not using the keyboard option), but you get used to it after a while

Overall verdict; definitely a big thumbs up!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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First Impression - Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1

I can't say much at all since there's a press embargo at the moment, but having played a bit of Tales of Monkey Island, I can say with confidence that fans of the series won't be disappointed.

Will try to get a full review done in time for 7th July, when the embargo is lifted...

See also:

New Screenshots and Gameplay Trailer from Tales of Monkey Island
TellTale Games Design Director Dave Grossman talks about Tales of Monkey Island
Tales of Monkey Island - Official Trailer
Screenshots from the forthcoming "Tales of Monkey Island"
Press Release from LucasArts / TellTale Games


CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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PC Game Review - New Star Soccer 4

New Star Soccer 4 charts the career of a footie player, from the earliest days playing in the non-league right through to (hopefully) domestic and international glory. There are so many countries and leagues available that I won’t even bother trying to list them, and you can have the game generate results for all of them – be warned though that this will result in long delays throughout the game. Most people will, I suspect, just stick to one or two leagues, and start playing in their own country’s minor leagues.

Don’t expect instant success – the game is tough, and it takes a long time for your player’s stats to build up significantly. NSS4 is basically split into two parts – player management, where you decide on training and personal matters (with some training mini-games), and the matches themselves. The management part of the game is nicely developed with some interesting options (and a few surprises). The game does include some seedier aspects of football life such as alcohol, gambling and drugs; these can have both positive and negative effects, and if you’re unhappy with the options you can always ignore them. It all adds to a little more interest in the game and a bit more variety. You also manage your finances and lifestyle, which affects other aspects of the game.

One of the key elements of the game is managing your player’s relationships with others; your boss, teammates, supporters, friends, family, girlfriend (if you have one) and media. This can be done by spending time with them or praising them, and by how you deal with various random events in the game, and all effect your overall confidence level. Again, this part of the game is well envisaged and makes the game more interesting.

In the matches themselves you play your role and try to prove the manager right for including you in the starting line-up. If your performances have failed to impress or your energy is too low, you may be left on the bench or even dropped completely from the team. In many ways the balance between realism and playability, which usually goes in favour of realism, is both a positive and negative point for the game. For example, you might come on as a substitute with only a couple of minutes left – you’re hardly likely to have any kind of impact on the game, perhaps not even getting a touch of the ball. Even if you start a match, if your team is getting whopped you can end up feeling very isolated on the pitch. It’s not easy to score (I’ve only managed twice in 2 and a bit seasons, despite playing as an attacking midfielder!), and the ratings you get for your performances sometimes seem a little harsh. Admittedly I was playing at a disadvantage having to use the keyboard controls – the game strongly recommends using a joystick but unfortunately I don’t have one at the moment (at least, not one that will work under Vista). The difficulty keeps you coming back though – you always feel that you could have done better, want to prove the boss wrong if he drops you, want to do well for your team, etc. When you do have a good match or score a goal, it’s really quite rewarding because you’ve had to work for it so far.

The game engine itself is quite good, player graphics and animation look good (albeit the animations seem a touch on the slow side); weather effects are well implemented and genuinely affect the way the ball moves, and the action looks reasonably realistic. After a while you tend to notice the same patterns repeating themselves in the action, particularly the set pieces, but it’s not too distracting. The stadium graphics are a little basic but this doesn’t affect the gameplay so it’s not really an issue. Overall the game looks good and sounds great, with a samba-rhythm in the background when you’re using the menu screens and good sound effects in-match. Te players sometimes do rather baffling things but in general their actions are quite realistic, and the rules are well implemented apart from the offside rule being rather harsh and penalties often being given when the challenge definitely looked like it was just outside the box.

The game seems to have a few stability issues running under 64-bit Vista, I’ve had quite a few crashes. From the game forum I’ve not noticed too many other people complaining of this so I’m assuming the issue is mainly related to Vista and possibly specific to Vista 64-bit.

Overall New Star Soccer 4 is a very complete football career simulation. It’s difficulty level is a little rough, and some people could be put off by this (though probably just as many others appreciate it not being too easy). There can be a fair amount of waiting between matches as the game calculates a myriad scores in other leagues, but other footie management games have the same problem.

I’m going to give NSS4 a rating of 7/10; I think it’s a very good game but many people will probably never get into it enough to appreciate just how good it is. Sometimes it can be more frustrating than enjoyable, but if you enjoy a challenge and like footie games, I’d definitely recommend it to you.

For more info, to download the demo version or buy the full version, visit http://www.newstargames.com/nss4.html

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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New Screenshots and Gameplay Trailer from Tales of Monkey Island

As if we weren't already excited enough about TellTale's upcoming Monkey Island games, here are some more screenshots for you:

June Visitor Stats

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It would be nice to break the 5,000 page view barrier in July, and also get more views/visitor - and more returning visitors. Will try to keep adding good content to bring the visitors here, if there's anything you'd particularly like to see more (or less!) of then please leave a comment and I'll try to accommodate your preferences!

CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog

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