Minecraft Makes a Million

Minecraft Makes a Million

Indie Beta Bags a Bunch of Builders

Seldom do independently developed games sell over a million copies, less frequently still, do pre-release versions of any game sell copies as profusely as did Minecraft, a game about construction, creativity, and world building. Minecraft, which entered its beta stage of development in late December, is, in my opinion, a fantastic achievement for the video game industry. While I have no problem with first person shooters, it's refreshing to see a first person perspective game whose focus is not on destruction, but on creation. Minecraft crossed the million-sold mark this past week.

Minecraft offers an open world for you to make your own by building whatever happens to strike your fancy. Like a simulated version of an unlimited supply of Lego blocks, its charm and versatility are both comfortable and daunting. Undertaking your castle, villa, or island can be quite the feat, but the rewards for bringing your creations into life can be one of the most satisfying in gaming today. You've got to be a self starter to really get into Minecraft, and while it may at first seem like this game might not be for everyone, there seem to be over a million people for whom Minecraft is a perfect fit.

The current version of Minecraft is available for purchase on the developer's official website: Minecraft.net. The Beta will cost you €20, which comes out to about $20 or £12, but if you're just interested in looking into the matter, you can play the classic version of the game for free. Classic Minecraft can be downloaded on the Minecraft website, and will allow you to build, but does not include many of the features of the paid version. The full game is, though, is under constant improvement and development, and is, dare I say, falling into place block by block. I look forward to seeing where the game will take us next, and it can do you no harm to take a look for yourself.

Visit the Minecraft Website

--Tom

Image courtesy of ZFGoku SSJ1

Sega finally announced the Dreamcast collection... Yay?

Okay, it's been 12 years since the dreamcast released, and 9 since the console fizzled out in the west. That's a fair time for a collective release of a consoles definitive titles wouldn't you say? Sure, it took till 2009 for the megadrive, but at least that had almost the best selection possible, 40 odd top quality games? It was glorious, and whats more, nostalgic. So when the rumour surfaced that a Dreamcast collection was impending impact upon the world, well, it was like a sneeze but better.

The idea of a Dreamcast collection is brilliant for a gamer such as myself who picked the console up for it's short life-span. The Dreamcast, whilst not the hit Sega was hoping for, is definitely one of the most iconic consoles in the buisness, even if it's to show manufacturers what not to do. The Dreamcast is a console in the same way that the Atari Jaguar was. They're developed in-between generations like a quirky middle child. They're slightly smarter than their older brother, but socially inept compared to the younger sister. Or in smarter terms, both consoles came out with double the hardware capabilities of the current generation, only to fall prey to the next generation that was about to swoop in anyway a year or so later with better tech.

The Dreamcast has some brilliant games, Sonic, Phantasy Star, Space Channel 5, Snow Surfers, Metropolis Street Racer, Toy Commander... There are so many games on the console that stood out in my childhood, even if I only played the demo, the Dreamcast was a haven for innovative idea's at the time because Sega was looking to provide something different and more engaging for their audience so the console would sell. I mean, I recall a game where you raced penguins around ice-caps, penguins who wore clothes too. I mean, that's my type of zany, and thats a type of zany I can get behind, and get behind it I did by buying the damn thing.

So as you can imagine, the Dreamcast collection is a dream (pun intended) for me, so many great titles on one disc would be brilliant, it would restore my faith in Sega as more than a publisher of great games, but a creator too...

But... Guess. Guess what's on this thing coming out next month, just guess! Guess how Sega have messed it up!

On the Dreamcast collection, there is the substantial sum of four titles. FOUR titles. To rub salt in the wound, these aren't even titles we haven't seen for years, no, they're the titles that are already on the xbla and psn services! At the end of February next month, we'll be seeing Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi, Sega Bass Fishing and Space Channel 5: Part 2 all on one disc!

Sega... I'm only asking for a Dreamcast ultimate collection here... Please! That being said... I'll probably buy it anyway because i love those titles... Apart from Sega Bass Fishing... Who the hell wanted Sega Bass Fishing to be re-released anyway?

...Bloody Sega Bass Fishing taking up my Power Stone and Fur Fighters slot on the disc...

Roll on February 25th for the U.K. and Europe and the 22nd for the U.S. !

- Serde

Image credit: arstechnica.com and caratulas.info respectively

A notice to anyone who likes the comic

If you have been willingly reading the comic here on the blog, you're in for a treat!

... Well, you're in for more comics anyway!

The comic has become a beast that i must update daily at: http://aoacomic.smackjeeves.com/

Be sure to check back daily for a dose of Video Game Humour from your friendly neighbourhood Serde!

Megaman Zero Collection- Reviewed by the new guy

Game: Megaman Zero- Megaman Zero 4
System: Nintendo DS
Release Date: June 8th, 2010 (USA)

X (From Megaman X) has halted the elf wars for over a century. Ceil, a scientist, running from Neo Arcadian forces stumbles upon century-old legendary reploid, Zero. When all seems lost, Zero is revived. And thus, the legendary reploids new story, unfolded.

-Megaman Zero-

Zero...? Is that my name...?

Megaman Zero was released for the Gameboy Advanced back in 2002, and no doubt when it came out it did not disappoint. Zero was shown in the Megaman X series as an enigmatic saber-wielding reploid, as the series progressed, so did his history. But dear reader, we shall talk about the Megaman X series another time. Zero returns after about a century-long rest in a sleek red black and white body, and the traditional buster (Well, its not exactly the same) and his iconic Z-saber (of course, with a new design) along with two new weapons, the Shield boomerang and Triple rod. Zero also has the ability to dash, which is pretty significant if you want to keep your grades up. Yes, there is a grading system, your probably thinking "school much?" and at first, the grading system doesnt really do much besides make the bosses harder until Zero 2, where it serves a more prominent role. Some things that should be noted are the cyber elves and the upgradeable weapons. The buster, z-saber, triple rod, and shield boomerang have stars next to them on the menu. These stars are the basic level of the weapon, so as you progress through the game, everytime you use your weapon a certain number of times it levels up to something like being able to charge the weapon for a more powerful attack, or adding more combo moves to it, or something of the likes. The cyber elves are very useful, but use of them penalizes Zero's grade. There are cyber elves that add to your vitality (hp), let you climb ladders faster, and even erase small enemies during a mission. You might be spending much of your time collecting cyber-elves and feeding them with E-crystals than doing the actual levels.
The bosses add to Zero's "legendary" status, named after mythical and legendary creatures such as "Anubis necromancess III" or "Maha Ganeshariff" and can be quite difficult to beat if your not prepared or just starting the series. Some things I personally like about the series is the detail in the sprites and the music, The detail is very prominent, and unlike other Megaman games, are a bit more "realistic" in a sense.
My thoughts:
Megaman Zero is a must-play, it has everything you could want. It has an amazing atmosphere with amazing and fluid music and art, gameplay can be suited for just about any gamer, easy or hard, fast or slow. It does however, stay a little over above easy, which might make it difficult for many, but for those who can beat it, has replay value. This game is sure to stick with you for a very long time.
My score: 9/10

-Megaman Zero 2-

Lets go...

Zero returns and with a lot to offer. Zero starts off running (well, limping) away from what looks to be a struggle with Neo Arcadia, but it turns out there were still Neo Arcadians, in which Zero removes his cloak, beginning the game. The first thing you might notice is, Zero seems to be injured, and the subscreen seems to be damaged, and an endless onslaught of Pantheons (pretty much the basic enemy) keep coming in from the left. You start off with the buster and Z-saber, and as you progress through the first stage, Zero collapses and is taken to the resistance by Harpuia, one of his enemies from the first game. Once Zero recovers, you are given a new sub-screen, able to get a new weapon, and also some new additions to the game. The EX skills and different forms. The gameplay is much like the original Megaman Zero, however, with the addition to the new weapon, chainrod, you can now swing across spike pits, drag items closer to you, and pull things. The forms allow you to have special privileges such as "better drop rate of health" or "do a rolling slash" or "higher attack" or any of that such. The EX skills give Zero some new fancy moves to play around with also. These EX skills are obtained by keeping your grade at "A" or above, however. The story goes in-depth of the elf-wars and the Dark Elf a little, which turns into one of the main focus of the Zero series. Like the original, there is a fine amount of detail and the music adds to it. The gameplay, although mainly unaltered, remains fluid. Zero 2 is an amazing sequal, and is definitely a must-have.
My score: 10/10

-Megaman Zero 3-

Its just me... I am... Zero.

Zero 3 is a bit different from the previous Zero games, not just weapon-wise, but cyber-elf, story, the addition of side-games, and Zero himself-wise. The game starts with Zero, Ceil, and some resistance members going on a mission to find the Dark Elf, to stumble upon an odd object from space it appears. Zero goes inside and stumbles upon Omega, and the introduction to pretty much the new main villain, Weil. Zero 3 offers a new Cyber-elf system, new EX skills, and a new weapon, the Recoil Rod, which can be used to bounce around on like a pogo stick or push things. But one of the newest features are the chips you can use to customize Zero. There are feet chips, body chips, and head chips that do many different functions. The head chips are mostly support for Zero, such as auto-charge, or heal while standing still. The Body chips are moreover for his weapons, such as electric body type or flame body type, though there is also one which ignores crumbling ground. And then the foot chips offer zero back-up support, such as double-jump, hopping on water, walking on spikes, etc... The cyber elves also have a new system, with satellite cyber elves and fusion cyber elves. Satellite cyber elves dont die, while fusion ones do. After you have beaten Zero 3, there are even Minigames available to play. The series again has excellent graphics and music, and very nice gameplay. There isnt much I can say on this one, but Zero 3 shines a bit more than the other Zero games, it is like a breath of fresh air. Very dynamic and fluid gameplay, much like the previous games, yet very different at the same time.
My score: 10/10

-Megaman Zero 4-

I never cared about justice, and I don't recall calling myself a hero... I have always fought only for the people that I believe in.

Zero 4 starts off with a caravan of humans. Yes, you heard me right, humans. Fleeing from Neo Arcadia, only for Neo Arcadians to attack. Zero comes in and thus, the last game of the series begins. Zero 4 is a lot different, well, thats an understatement. I mean A LOT different from the previous Zero games. Zero retains his Buster and Z-saber, as usual, but now has the Z-knuckles. The Z-knuckles allow Zero to steal an enemies weapon, pull out stuff, etc... And enemies now drop "parts" which can be used to create head chips, body chips, and feet chips. There is also a weather system, which allows Zero to change the weather which can affect the stage drastically. Another difference is the boss selection, instead of four at a time, you can fight any of the 8 bosses available. They do drop EX skills too as long as you play the stage with the weather in favor of the boss, and the EX skills also changed for this game (Unfortunately, no Z-knuckles EX skill). Zero 4 also has an easy option, which drastically makes the game a lot easier than the previous titles. The game still retains amazing detail and music, and great storyline and gameplay. Zero 4 is a good ending to the series, but if it was me, I would have wished for a Zero 5 rather than Megaman ZX
My score: 8.5/10

Extras to Zero collection:
Zero collection has a lot to offer, an easy scenario where the player is able to play all 4 games in order, and it is very beginner friendly, collectable "cards" and mod-chips which can be used to change Zero 3 up a bit (adding cats in the resistance base and such) The Megaman Zero collection is like an epic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, only better. If your looking for a game that you want to last a long time, I recommend getting the Zero collection, it's well worth it.
My score: 10/10

-Kenji

Why Mirror's Edge is in fact, the best thing since sliced bread.

Just take a deep breath...

Mirror's Edge is DICE's 2008 foray into the unkown. Mirror's Edge is a First Person Shooter, but it breaks the mould, it extends beyond the constraints that the genre has created. In your everyday FPS, you are "soldier" trying to get from point "A" to point "B" to win a war. You'll be shooting some enemies along the way, and testing out various weapons throughout. Thats fine, i mean, if it ain't broken, don't fix it, right? So the easiest way to explain Mirror's Edge is... They broke it.

You are Faith, a "runner" in this game. A "runner" is a profession in which someone will deliver something to another person discretely. Why does this need to be done? Is Faith just a glorified drug runner? No, this is a PC gone mad world where the book "1984" really caught on. Big Brother will in fact, be watching you in Mirror's Edge land. The aim of the game is to save Faith's sister, who has apparently killed a man. But Faith, having spent 2 seconds at the crime scene, decides that her sister is innocent, and off we go! Okay, the story isn't the best story ever told, it's not even close. But i don't remember sliced bread having a story, nor do i remember pac man having a complex story, so let's just say this story is there only to set the scene. It's a light tale with which the gameplay can move around freely in.

Which brings me to the gameplay of Mirror's Edge... Contained within 10 levels, Mirror's Edge has Faith run, jump, wall run, balance on beams and use various other degree's of movement to naviagte the world, all in first person. On a console, rb, or r1 are your devices for jumping, and lb or l1 are your devices for ducking, it's as simple as that. If you jump towards a wall head on, Faith will run up the wall. If you jump towards a wall sideways, Faith will run along the wall. It's all in getting the correct execution of these moves that make the game what it is. If you don't jump at a fair angle, Faith won't do the move, so there is a learning curve here. The platforming mechanics carry over to the "trials" mode of the game where you must run Faith from one location to another, flagging down various checkpoints on the way, to beat a time. These are extremely addictive, and ultimately make the game infinitely playable because there will always be a time to beat. This mode of the game is where the men are seperated from the boys, as you'll have to know each run like the back of your hand to stand a chance of getting a good time, it's a never ending battle with the clock. Within the game's story mode you'll also encounter cops who want nothing more than for you to die, quite painfully. Thus Faith is kitted out with some combat capabilities, punches, kicks, flying kicks etc... These are all easy to pull off, again with use of triggers on the consoles, and there are just enough moves to provide a diverse fight each and every time. Faith can also disarm cops if need be, and then you have the power of a gun in your hands. The great thing about having this within the game is that you don't want the gun. The gun slows Faith down to a snails pace and takes away all your free running abilities, so whilst you may be able to take a guy down in two shots rather promptly, it's going to take a while to find him. No, it's much more satisfying to play like some sort of cargo pants wearing ninja. Pouncing out from the shadows at each unsuspecting cop and beating them down with your karate fists!

The graphics in Mirror's Edge i think to this day are superb. Each character you come into contact with in first person looks amazing, their face rendered with time and care. This really shows off the lighting engine which works wonders in this game too. The environment of this city Faith explore's is just so sleek. All the buildings will be white and possibly have one other colour to accentuate themselves, this gives each level a colour scheme, somehow also making an urban scene quite beautiful to look at. Another important thing to mention within the graphics is that there is a setting called "runner vision" which will be on by default that makes anything Faith can clamber up, or any door's she can smash through red to give the player some direction.

Mirror's Edge has no real soundtrack, the two things that define it are the Lisa Miskovsky song: Still Alive, constructed for the game, everyone should give it a listen. Then there is the sound of Faith breathing constantly surrounding you. It really is amazing that something so obvious could be so effective in immersing you within the game, but you really feel like faith is just a human within this game because of it. An easily broken person. Essentially the sound is brilliant.

Mirror's Edge breaks the mould of the FPS and creates the First Person Platformer genre, executing it brilliantly too. There is no excuse for not buying this game as it's been out for two years and is so cheap you could probably buy it instead of a coffee, and who needs an excuse anyway? This is a pinnace of innovative game design that should be admired and commended. The only thing we need to ask DICE is: "Are you going to make a Mirror's Edge 2?"

I sure as hell hope they do.

image credit: Kotaku and Zombie gamer respectively

002 - Bulletstorm

001 - Alan Wake

It's the Aracade of Awesome Video Game Humor Comic!

or... Aoavghc, unfortunatly that's not exactly pronouncable, so let's stick with the Vgh as an acronym!

either way, we're starting out with a bang! Flash bang that is...

Alan Wake joke!


- Serde

mario gets artsy: mario paint

Ah, Mario. Everyone's favourite plumber, who also saves princesses, stomps goombas, races carts, plays just about every popular sport, and was in the Olympics. But i guess all that didn't appeal to the emo kid, drawing and composing screamo lyrics in the corner. Mario needed a more sensitive and artsy look. And so Mario paint was born.

First off it looks like an old version of that kids painting thing that was on the old Macintosh, and that's very close to it. at first any ways. You see Mario paint is the kind of game that if your really talented it's amazing what you can do. but if your not well....

the painting is nothing to special at first, stranded brushes, shape and filler tools, letters, some Mario themed stamps, stuff you would expect but under that it has to interesting things to it. The first is the stamp maker, its basicly a mini spriteing thing. I remember as a little kid trying to make desktop icons, looking back that was a bit strange. The other is the animation maker, its amazing but i never got the hang of it

the other end of the gameplay and the most popular is the music composer, now this is hard one to explain. Its like a bit of sheet music on screen and the stamps are instruments and when you but them on the sheet music its a note... ok, maybe you should just see for yourself because its just to had to tell you how it works.

Now your going “ok this is all well and good but you gotta use the snes controller for this?” no it has a mouse,and a training game, where you swat flys, its actually pretty fun. The strategy guide for the game is also one of the best ever written just needed a place to put that.

Now this game has one big problem to it there is no way to share or save your creations. But with the release of Mario paint composer for the pc only the painting part has this problem. (unless your using an emulator not that I'm saying you should ;) overall this game is fun as hell,it kept me occupied for hours and made the "research" for this way to long. If your the creative type check it out.

Alan Wake- a psychological piece of hype.

When I bought my brand new Xbox 360, I had the choice of either a Kinect, or a package with 2 free games. The Kinect was too expensive, so I bought the games. The games were Forza Motorsport 3, and Alan Wake.
I downloaded Alan, and after beating it, let's see how it holds up.

STORY

Often times I had to put my controller down and ask, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?". The story is a convoluted mess, but this is where the "psychological" aspect of the game comes into play. The story revolves around Alan Wake, a world famous writer going to a small town to help cure his writer's block. His wife gets kidnapped and Alan has to save her yeah yeah yeah. Now, stop me if you've heard this, A magical evil causing terror to a white man in small town America. Yeah. Stephen King. Infact, Stephen King is the first word in the game. No joke. So, it's pretty much a playable Stephen King book. Alan can also collect manuscripts from a book he doesn't remember writing, that often give hints at what's to come next.

GAME PLAY

The combat of Alan Wake, while fun at first, is very, very dull. Shine a flashlight at your enemies, two shots. You can collect new weapons, but rare is it that you can keep them inbetween levels (called "Episodes" ingame). The Episodes themeselves are rather dull and samey, with Alan most of the time in a forest. The episodes always start like this, Very short, non combat section mostly reserved for story, VERY long combat/puzzle section, the meat of the game, and finally "extraction", get to the exit. Along the way you can collect manuscripts dropped by a man in an old style deep sea diver suit. I wish I was making this up. Another collectible is coffee thermoses. Yeah, wut. Oh, but you know what enemy I REALLY hate? The birds. The are impossible to dodge, do fucktons of damage, and are REALLY hard to kill. I remember one instance, I had to push a cart off a hill, jump a big gap (the jumping in this game is awful), and run like hell with birds high on my heels. I died so many times, not even funny.

GRAPHICS
The graphics are nothing to right home about, the atmosphere is great, but the character faces are so awful...

REPLAY VALUE
Aside from achievements, and the manuscripts and coffee thermoses, there's nothing really to go back for. The game offers no reward for collecting them, and it feels like a waste of time.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Alan Wake is a bad game with good moments, the atmpsphere rocks, everything else is shit. A solid rental piece, but not a good purchase. A 5/10.

Thank goodness Forza was great.

Top Five British Video Game Innovations

For Queen, Country, and Cartridge.
What have the Brits done for video gaming?

In the globalized world of video game industry, it's increasingly difficult to say that a game is from any given country, considering the decentralized and open marketplace that currently makes up the video game business. With developers working from studios in all corners of the globe, the days of “English” games or “American” games are over. Looking back on the history of gaming, though, our friends across the pond have provided us with quite a few innovations and great games. In honor of their advances, today, we count down the top five video game developments to come out of Britain.

5. Isometric 3D
   
   
   It may seem hard to believe, but there was a time when rendering in full 3D was a amazing thing. Yes, back in the stone age, in the year 1983, Ant Attack for the ZX Spectrum computer was the very first game to feature a fully rendered 3D game in an isometric perspective. While that might not seem like a big deal, if you think of the games that have followed in Ant Attack's footsteps, the game's import starts to come into perspective. Everything from Age of Empires to Diablo owes a debt of gratitude to Sandy White, the programmer behind this gem. It may not have lined his pockets, but Ant Attack certainly cemented his place in video game history.
   
   

4. Starfox on the SNES

“Wait,” you may be saying, “Starfox is a Nintendo game, right?” You would be correct; Starfox was developed by Nintendo, but it never would have been possible without a little British company called Argonaut. The SNES by itself would never have had the processing power to deliver the polygonal goodness of Starfox, it was only through the power of the Super FX processor chip created by Argonaut that Nintendo was able to release Starfox in 1993. Other games featuring incarnations of the Super FX chip include Doom on the SNES and Yoshi's Island. A number of games began development on using the Super FX chip and were then moved to the Nintendo 64, most notably, Starfox 2, which was nearly finished before it was scrapped with some of the ideas being transferred to Starfox 64. The Super FX chip was also nearly the host of what went on to become Super Mario 64. While the development was switched to the N64 early on, the idea is tantalizing enough as it is.

3. Rareware

Rare ltd., formerly known as Ultimate Play the Game and Rareware has developed and published some of the best games of the 1990's. Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark, Goldeneye 007, Donkey Kong Country, Banjo Kazooie, and Battletoads are all the from the minds of Rare, and if those games don't convince you of Rare's importance, I just don't know what to say. Though Rare may not have have done much in recent years, they were the kings of the Nintendo 64, and for that, they will never be forgotten.

2. Grand Theft Auto

DMA Design was a little Scottish developer until they released Lemmings in 1990, and while it was a big success at the time, Lemmings hasn't had the same amount of legacy as the game they released just a few years later: Grand Theft Auto. A top down shooter/RPG for DOS, PC, and Playstation that evolved into one of the biggest franchises of all time. Now known as Rockstar North, DMA (which stood for Doesn't Mean Anything) has gone on to develop the Manhunt games, every iteration of the Grand Theft Auto series, and Red Dead Redemption. Alternately brilliant and tasteless, Rockstar North continues to wow as one of the foremost developers
from the British Isles.

1. First-Person Shooters

What's this? Surely first-person shooters were the doing of Id Software, right? Wrong. While Id was behind the most famous of the early first-person-shooters, Wolfenstien 3D, Doom, etc., It was UK developer Core design that brought us one of the first games of that genre. Corporation is a game that predates the release of Id's shooters, and while it's hard to pin down exactly which game is the first in this billion-dollar style, Corporation is really the first to feature a recognizable first-person shooter gameplay experience. Without the efforts of Core design (which also developed the Tomb Raider series), the video game industry would certainly be very different today.

And that really goes for all games and all developers. The greatest of artists are the best of thieves, and as with other areas of art, each new game stands on the shoulders of the games that have come before it. As Americans, we might be apt to overlook the achievements of European game companies in favor of a focus on US and Japanese games. These are just a few of the thank you's we owe to other countries, if we weren't already too busy playing their games.

--Tom

San Francisco Rush 2049 - Review

Careening Through The Future

What Constitutes “Good” Anyway?

When I think of San Francisco, I don't usually think of fast cars and explosions. Apparently, though, in the year 2049, the citizens of the Southern California city well known for its Castro neighborhood and flamboyant gay community have all decided to buy ridiculous cars and catapult themselves across the skyline. Released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64, San Francisco Rush 2049 is an arcade racing game set in the future, which gives it the excuse to play fast and loose with things like architecture, physics, and, apparently, the fundamentals of logic. I quite enjoy a dash of fast-paced arcade racing, but it is important to stress that not every game in that genre is created equally well. That said, sometimes first impressions are deceiving. A juicy tidbit, eh? Read on, dear listener.

As one of the first 3-D consoles, it's hard to say a lot about the graphics in comparison to other games. The first generation of a new technology is always an awkward adjustment, and the graphics of 2049 reflect the Nintendo 64's primitive visuals, but, that said, I don't think that the graphics detract from the game in any way. In general, you're not going to be going around the tracking thinking to yourself, Oh, these graphics are god awful, I wish I were playing Gran Turismo 5. If you're going to play a ten-year-old game, you know what you're in for, and 2049's graphics are no worse than other games on the N64, but if things like that bother you, this might not be the best game to play.

Graphics may not make the game, but gameplay certainly does, and 2049 delivers an unusual brand of racing. I'm used to games that are easy to learn and difficult to master, but this game almost flips that hackneyed saying on its head. The controls are standard, but are complicated by the flawed physics system that the game uses. Cornering, breaking, jumping, these are all fairly standard mechanics for over the top racing games, but these are all handled in way that isn't much like any other I've played. Once you can get around the tracks without blowing up, you'll have to spend a lot of time getting to know the courses. Unlike a lot of racing games you may have played, you won't be able to breeze through the tracks on your first play through. To get ahead, you've got to cheat, and that means scouring the road for shortcuts and secrets to launch yourself into first place.

Given the strangeness of the way the gameplay works, I was about ready to give up on San Francisco Rush after my first couple of hours with the game. In that time, my car exploded a few hundred times, I spun out every few seconds, and I never placed higher than fourth. It would be an understatement to say that I was vexed by my complete lack of success with the game. I even started to write this review, completing the first couple of paragraphs before deciding to go back and play the game for a little while longer. When I returned, with a clear head and a fresh mindset, I found that I liked the game much better. This is the sort of game that you've got to play for a while before you're even close to being good. Once you know how to get yourself around the tracks and once you've got the shortcuts memorized you've got a fair shot at gold, but you might not have a lot of fun up until that point.

Another weakness of is the way that the game allows you to unlock items. You don't get anything by winning races, and, to be honest, I'm not really sure how you unlock things. There are coins tucked in out of the way corners of the tracks, but collecting them doesn't seem to correlate to getting new items any more than other factors. For all I know, it might just be random, the game certainly doesn't do a good job of explaining how to progress. You start off with four tracks unlocked, and I haven't been able to attain any more than that. As far as I can tell, though, there are supposed to be two more, but I've spent a good four or five hours without getting them, so I think it's safe to say that the path to them is well hidden.

It may not be the most fully featured, and it may not be best racing game to be had on the Nintendo 64, but it has character and it's quite fun. If you're willing to get used to it and allow yourself to get good, I would recommend it, but if you just want to sit down, turn it on and have a good time, I would have to point you to some other game. All in all, it's solid, but not spectacular. I'm really not sure how I feel about this one: in technical terms, it's not good, on paper it doesn't work, but the more I play it, the more I'm hooked. It is, unfortunately, not one of the cheapest games you'll ever see: you can have it for around $10, and for that price, there might not be enough to warrant a purchase, but if you find it for a smaller price, I don't have many hesitations recommending San Francisco Rush 2049: a shoddy but lovable game for the Nintendo 64.

--Tom

Xbox 360 S review (250 gig version, no Kinect)

December 26, 2010. I walk in to Best Buy, all my giftcards in hand. I waltz over to the Xbox isle, pick up a copy of Black Ops, and a brand new 250 gigabyte console. Now that I've had it for a few weeks, we shall see if it's the shit, or if it's shit.

DESIGN AND HARDWARE

The design of the Xbox 360 S (We're going to call the old one "White" and this one "Black") is very similar to Xbox white, but just a tidbit smaller, and with various hardware moved around. There are 2 vents on both sides, and 2 vents on the top. It can be set up in either horizontally or vertically.If you want to switch sides, just be sure however, to power off and remove whatever disk inside BECAUSE IT WILL SCRATCH THE DISK! Black Ops learned this lesson the hard way (I got a new copy, no biggy). The 4 gig version of Xbox Black is a flat, matte black, while the 250 version is a very shiny black. Almost looks as if Xbox white had a baby with a PS3. The buttons are all touch sensitive, so no need worrying if your disk ejector is stuck (like my Wii). The buttons emit a chirping sound when touched, so you'll know if you did it right. The harddrive is removable, but I haven't taken it out for fear of breaking it. Of note is the fact that it has built in WiFi connectivity, so no need to shell out cash for the adapter. Also included are 5 USB.20 ports, an HDMI output, and a jack to plug in your Kinect, if you're the type of loser who has one. The Xbox comes packaged with one controller, and a headset. The headset plugs into the controller, in the bottom. The controller is very nice, almost identical to the PS/PS2/PS3 one, except that the right analog stick has switched positions with the D-Pad, and I like this a lot.

SOFTWARE AND XBOX LIVE

The OS on the Xbox is fairly slick, with menus and stuff. Very user friendly, but it seems more geared towards families and children. C'mon Microsoft, Wii's are for little kids and families, Xbox's are for grown ups! So recognize your demographic! Now lets talk about Xbox live. I think Gabe Newell, president and CEO of Valve said it best, "It's a train wreck". First, when you create your XBL account, you have to create a Mii Avatar. These are your little representations of you to the XBL community, which you can then spend real world money on dressing them up and giving them toys. You can give them lightsabers, dogs, a friggin boat. Whatever you wish. You also have to spend real world money on PAYING to play online, as a Gold membership is required. Xbox Live includes the Xbox Live Arcade, a collection of downloadable games, which includes Shadow Complex, Portal: Still Alive, Sonic Adventure, etc. All these games are reasonably priced, and besides the last one, are generally good.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Xbox 360 Slim improved where the previous failed, with new internals (Less RRoD's! :D), more features, and a reasonable price point. Of course, the PS3 is about the same, and that has a Blue Ray player, but I don't own a PS3 and can't tell if it's any better.

Pros:
Good controller
Good games
Sleek design
VERY quiet (Only makes a little "vrrrr" when playing a game, but I would be kind of worried if it didn't)
Nice interface
Built in WiFi
More USB ports, an HDMI outlet, and a Kinect outlet (lolkinect)

Cons:
Xbox Live sucks (Well, that's more of a con in general, but Playstation Network allows you to play multiplayer for free)
Gets fingerprints easy
Feels VERY breakable, like glass.
Can scratch disks if you move it.


EDIT: Also of note, it literally CAN'T RRoD you. If a fatal error occurs, you'll get a Red DOT of Death on the power button!