Day 100 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Gaming Setup

FINALLY MADE IT TO DAY 100!!!

I thought I'd wrap things up by going through our gaming setup, each console one by one.

Wii U (currently at my parents house so it's not in the group shot)- we got the Wii U this year specifically for Mario Kart 8 and despite what people say, the Wii U is a great console. We had a terrible time just getting this delivered after Yodel, a dreadful package delivery company, messed up everyone's orders. When the Wii U finally turned up we had an absolute blast, MK8 is phenomenal, Super Mario 3D World provided some multiplayer platform fun, and Nintendo kindly threw in Nintendoland for free!

Since getting the console in May we've slowly built up our collection with Zombi U, Pikmin 3 and of course, Super Smash Bros. Not to mention the amiibo's making their way over on Christmas Day.

The Wii U however, is at its best with local multiplayer, an experience now becoming a thing of the past thanks to gaming online. Yet nothing beats having your friends and family over for a race on Mario Kart or a fight on Smash Bros.  

XBOX 360 (Star Wars edition)- the very first console I posted about back on May 4th, it seems like ages ago. I picked his up when my original 360 was showing signs of giving up, plus I'm also a big Star Wars fan, and the Star Wars edition has a bigger hard drive so it was an obvious choice.

It came with Star Wars Kinect, which is rubbish, a C-3PO controller, that broke despite barely being used or knocked around, and the kinect itself alongside some Star Wars related freebies. It makes R2-D2 sound effects when you switch it on or open the disk drive, adorable but it gets annoying after a while, and it has 'help me Obi-Wan Kenobi...' written along the disk tray.

Top memories from this machine include completing Red Dead Redemption 100% without a manual (oh, yeah!), waiting patiently for Minecraft to download when it was first released and staying up till 4am playing it, and watching helplessly as my nephew drove my motorbike into a river on GTAV.

Wii- these were near impossible to find when they first released, but one day I was going to a picnic in the city centre and nipped into Argos to see if they had any in stock. They did so I spent the entire picnic guarding the shopping bag, it wasn't my brightest move.

The Wii came with Warioware Smooth Moves and Wii Sports; my wife and I played for 7 hours straight leaving us with aching bones and creaking joints. Great fun though.

Memorable moments include playing through most of Skyward Sword with a broken sensor bar (I didn't realise until I was two thirds of the way through the game), and making inappropriate memes with Smash Bros. Brawl after 2 hours of playing it (we found it really boring).

PS2- I was late to the PS2 party, I think the PS3 was out by the time I bought one. I remember I bought it from HMV and I think it was bundled with Hitman Blood Money, Rampage World Tour and Canis Canem Edit (later renamed Bully). I played through CCE and it thought the hand to hand fighting was more violent than GTA: San Andreas, it was brutal landing punches and kicks, and launching bricks into your schoolmates faces.

There were some absolutely phenomenal games on PS2, but my all-time favourite has to be We Love Katamari. My wife and I would spend hours and hours together playing the co-operative mode, collecting all of the cousins and beating our high scores, go find the soundtrack if you haven't heard it because it's brilliant.

Dreamcast- Sega's last hurrah. The strangest thing was when I moved out of my parents house I found all of my Dreamcast controllers, including my memory card, went walk about. Luckily I found someone eBay selling 4 boxed controllers for £20! Memory cards are also easy to come by, except the PAL version, so I've got a nice clear blue memory card as a replacement.

The best game on the system for me has to be Skies of Arcadia. I played through the game until the final battle, realising I hadn't levelled up enough to defeat the final boss, so I started the entire game again. It was interesting summer. (^_^)

Nintendo 64- Where to begin. The Nintendo 64 saw me through my early high school years, a mate of mine used to come around every Sunday to play classics like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Pokemon Stadium and WWF No mercy. It was a great time to be a Nintendo fan as there were so many fantastic multiplayer titles available and they just kept coming ... Diddy Kong Racing, Conkers Bad Fur Day, etc etc.

There some great single player games as well of course. I don't even want to know the number of hours I've sunk into Super Mario 64 and Lylatwars. The Nintendo 64 is a testament to my misspent youth. (^_^)

Sega Mega Drive- I think I got a Mega Drive for my 5th or 6th birthday and it was bundled with Sonic the Hedgehog, awesome present. I remember I always had great difficulty getting past Dr Robotnik in the Green Hill Zone, but eventually I learned the infamous level select cheat so it wasn't a problem.
\ (^ v ^) /

It was great to follow the Sonic series through those early years with the introduction of new characters and killer soundtracks, but it was even better to see Sega inventing new IP's to compete with Nintendo as anything seemed possible. We had some funky beats and outlandish humour with Toejam & Earl, gorgeous and unique gameplay from Ecco the Dolphin, and amazing multiplayer brawls and battles with Streets of Rage and Golden Axe. One of the greatest times to be playing video games.

Super Nintendo- What a year it's been for old Snezzy; he's died, then been resurrected, and had a load of games bought for him that I'll have to set aside a 2 year holiday just to play through them all. It's starting to become my favourite console thanks to its superb back catalog and simplicity.

I remember getting my first SNES one Christmas, must have been at least 20 years ago (wow, that made me feel old), and it came bundled with Super Mario World and Super Mario All-Stars. A kid couldn't have asked for a more perfect Christmas present, a collection of some of the finest platform games of all time and a another that is arguably THE finest platform game of all time.

Later on down the line I would be having loads of fun racing against my Dad on Super Mario Kart, he was always annoyed when I used weapons. Then of course there's Street Fighter II, Donkey Kong Country, Starfox, A Link to the Past and so many others, ensuring the SNES was one of the greatest consoles of all time. 

Day 54 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Project Zero II Crimson Butterfly

I finished Project Zero II (also known as Fatal Frame II) over the weekend and I have to say this game scared the bejeezus out of me. I found It much more terrifying than Silent Hill or Resident Evil.

The story revolves around twin sisters (Mio and Mayu) who return to a forest from their childhood, days before it's due to be destroyed with the construction of a new dam. While they reminisce Mayu is spirited away by a strange crimson butterfly so Mio goes after her. They're eventually led to a village that appears to have been abandoned; but the sisters soon discover the village is crawling with the tortured souls of the past who have brought the twins to the village for a terrifying purpose.

The game revolves around exorcising ghosts using the Camera Obscura, a device that allows the photographer to see and defend themselves against spirits. It's quite a unique mechanic and it makes a change from the standard pistol/shotgun/machine gun etc routine often found in survival horror titles. The camera can also be used to solve puzzles; for instance you may encounter a door that's been sealed shut, but photographing the door will reveal an objective that you need accomplish before proceeding.

I feel the key to a successful horror game is the audio, and clearly the developer has the same philosophy, as Project Zero II has some of the most chilling effects I've ever heard. When your camera locates a ghost for example, a distorted noise will wail about you and amplify when the spirit gets closer. I imagined I would find it annoying after a while, but even after 8 hours of playing I was still sufficiently freaked out.

I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't played this before, but for those looking for a  classic survival horror title they should certainly check out Project Zero II. The game was released for a number of systems, I played the Directors Cut version for the original Xbox (it also runs on 360), but it was also released on the Wii with all of the features from the Directors Cut version along with an extra ending. All in all it's exciting, terrifying and it gives you nightmares, exactly what a good horror game should do.

Day Eight: GTA V Selfies and Mental State Update

GTA V is arguably one of the best games, if not the best game, of the last console generation.

The city of Los Santos is filled to the brim with things to do, places to see and a huge cast of impressionable characters (like Franklin and Graham the Zombie). So luckily for us we have a camera so we can share our exploits on Rockstar's social club and elsewhere.

I thought I'd also take the opportunity to talk about the latest update to GTA Online; the High Life update. As usual this update includes some new vehicles, one new weapon, also a number of new apartments to rent along with the ability to rent multiple properties, but most importantly the Mental State feature.

The Mental State feature monitors a player's behaviour throughout a Free Roam session in GTA Online. The more damage a player does to NPC's, or other players, causes their character's mental state to become more psychotic and they'll be shown as a threat to other players on the map. If you bring down a psychopathic player you'll earn extra experience points, however your character will also start to become more mentally unstable as a result of that.

The presentation of this new feature is a little confusing as mentally unstable players are marked on the map with red blips, which was previously how players with bounties on their heads were represented, but now I think these have been replaced with red skulls. Either way, if you see red, shoot it and you'll earn some extra cash/XP. It's certainly revitalised the Free Roam sessions which were often very tame with not a lot happening, and now since there's some incentive to causing mayhem you're not safe anywhere in Los Santos.

Hopefully in the next update we'll finally get the long awaited heist missions added to GTA Online, and maybe I'll finally earn enough cash to buy a Z Type or a Rhino Tank.




 

Day Four: Bioshock

One of the most influential and groundbreaking first person shooters of the last generation; Bioshock.

I have to admit when I first played Bioshock I didn't get the appeal, it didn't seem to be anything more than your typical shooter in a 1950's-1960's steampunk setting which was very popular at the time of it's release. When I gave it a second chance however, I found one of the most rewarding experiences available on the Xbox 360; thanks to its excellent gameplay, outstanding narrative and a cast of unforgettable characters.

I'll try and keep spoilers to a minimum...

You play as Jack who survives a plane crash into the ocean and winds up in the underwater city of Rapture, a once brilliant utopia created by businessman Andrew Ryan. Unfortunately Rapture has descended into chaos as it is now home to psychopathic drug addicts (known as Splicers), brainwashed/genetically altered children (Little Sisters), and violent robots who protect the children (Big Daddy's).

Your task? Somehow escape Rapture alive with the help of Atlas, an activist who attempted to overthrow Andrew Ryan, and of course Plasmids! A highly addictive substance that's turned almost everyone into a homicidal maniac, but it does give you incredible superpowers like the ability to shoot bolts of lightning from your fingertips.

One of things that makes the game so unique is that each character has their own story to tell that makes up the world of Bioshock. The Splicer's insane monologuing is both chilling and fascinating as they unwittingly reveal dark secrets from their past as a result of their addiction to Plasmids. Rapture's history is told to you through audio recordings left scattered throughout the city, which are great fun to collect, and not forgetting the weird and terrifyingly wonderful characters that can't wait to meet you.







       

The Force is strong with this one

Just to show how much of a Star Wars geek I am, I thought I'd show you my Star Wars Xbox 360. When my original 360 was about to break down I saw it as an excuse to get the R2-D2 version, as far as I am aware it also has the largest hard drive of any of the 360 consoles (330GB).