Tag Archives: 2008

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Lips

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In the high echelons of internet and geek culture, 2008 has seen the biggest argument amongst gamers since the debate over whether games are art: Casual Gaming. This so-called “new” market seeks to capture those people who don’t play games all the time, unlike the rest of us ‘normal geeks’. It seeks to appeal to mums, sisters, grandmas and grandpas, and because of the incredible success of the Nintendo Wii and DS, along with download services like Steam and Xbox Live Arcade, casual gaming has seen a massive spike of interest by the big players in the market.

Along with slashing the price of the Xbox Arcade System, Microsoft has pitched its once hardcore system to the casual gamer. The New Xbox Experience makes the interface clearer and simpler and adds a gimmicky but cute Avatar system, which allows you to personalise a character to your tastes and then see that character appear in the casual games such as Uno and SceneIt: Box Office Smash.

Lips is another attempt by Microsoft to capture the casual market. Made by Japanese studio iNiS, creators of Gitaroo Man and Elite Beat Agents, Lips is a Karoke game accompanied by two wireless microphones. Unlike Microsoft’s disastrous attempt to make a Karoke game for the original Xbox with the Xbox Music Mixer, the game functions as a very slick and cool Karoke simulator, but as a game, it falls a little flat.

The Microphones are striking and well crafted. They feel like a proper microphone in your hand, weighted properly for a sturdy and comfortable feel. The microphone itself is covered by a metal a foam spit guard, which is removed to access the batteries. When in action, LEDs strobe and change colour to the beat of the song, and they also contain motion detectors that interact with the game itself.

The first thing you notice when loading the game is the incredibly slick interface. It just oozes cool, and is insanely easy to use. Three button presses and you’re singing. It would have been nice to use the microphone in some way to navigate the menus, but unfortunately you need to have controllers connected, but it’s not a deal breaker. The first option is to sing, and pressing the button shows you your songs listed in alphabetical order. Selecting a song with the D-Pad plays a sample of the song, just in case you didn’t know it, and here you can also rate the songs and add it your playlists.

Another button press gets you into a staging area, where you can set up the options for the song. Here you can choose to sing the long or short versions of the songs, set up Versus or Cooperative modes, set the noise reduction to reduce the voice in the song, the effect of the microphone, and choose which background to sing along to – Music Video, Interactive Video, or one of 3 minigames. After adjusting your options, you start singing the song.

The singing section feels very similar to Rockband and Guitar Hero singing sections. A pitch line scrolls horizontally and you’re rewarded points for hitting the pitch and timing of the songs correctly. When you sing well enough, an icon appears on screen telling you to perform an action with the mic. Do this, and you activate Star power Star Stream. This gives you double points on all the notes you hit. This is where the motion detector comes into play, although simply shaking the mic rather than doing the exact move can set it off anyway. You can also shake the microphone to become a noise maker, acting as tambourine shakes or hand claps.

Music Video is exactly that – watch the music video as the song plays. Some songs are a little too old to have the original MTV video, or maybe it’s a clearance issue, but in those cases a custom video will play instead. Whilst videoclips are common to most Karoke set ups, I personally found this very distracting, especially during Beyonce’s clip where she’s strutting around in nothing much at all… it’s a bit hard to sing when your tongue is hanging out.

The interactive clip has motion captured dancers singing over a disco-esc flashy background, like those old rave music clips and amiga demos. (Gosh, I’m showing my age here!).You interact with the clip by swinging the microphone around. As you do certain moves, like spin around or move the mic up and down, the video responds in various ways. It’s kind of cool, especially with two people.

The minigames are a silly but fun distraction. Kiss has a cute 2D rendered scene, very reminiscent of Rub Rabbits, with two people running towards each other. Time the microphone movement right, and they’ll kiss. Vocal Fighters has two cartoon singers in spots of light. The better you sing, the brighter the light, forcing your opponent off stage. Time Bomb features a big bomb with a fuse, and by singing well you fill up a glass of water. Shake the microphone and put out the fuse.

There’s also a “jukebox” mode to the game, which allows you to set a playlist and play song after song after song – the ultimate party mode. If a person wants to sing, simply shaking the mic gets the person in the game. This is the same for any mode, but makes the most sense in this mode as you can have the game running as a video jukebox until your guests are drunk brave enough to start singing.

The biggest issue with all of these modes is there’s not really much point to singing well. Yes, you are scored on your progress, and are rewarded stars and medals which in turn give you more points, but there’s nothing to do with the points once you’ve earned them. You can’t fail a song, and moreover you don’t unlock more songs or higher difficulties, points are simply used for bragging rights. So, for a single player, you’ve scored 4 million points on Young MC’s Bust A Move, what’s the point in singing it again?

The 40 songs included are adequate, covering a range of songs and styles, although I feel it’s much more slanted to young females tastes compared to Rockband and Guitar Hero. I really appreciate the inclusion of some Australian greats – if you haven’t sang drunkenly to Khe Shan in a pub then you’re not really Australian to my mind, and now you can capture that feeling any time you want. But I really have to question to inclusion of Shannon Noll on the Australian disc at the expense of Duran Duran’s Hungry Like a Wolf. They could have at least made the songs of the other regions available as a free download.

You can import songs, but again the game misses a big opportunity here. Songs are simply imported – no lyrics can be included. Knowing that you can attach lyrics to music files using ID3 tags, I don’t understand why this ability wasn’t included. I do understand the licensing restrictions placed on content like this, but surely some kind of arrangement could be made with music publishers, even if it was some kind of proprietary file format that only LIPS could use.

Also, when you play your imported song, you’re still scored, although how exactly I can’t quite ascertain. It seems to work just as well if you make random noises into the microphone. And whilst it sends the details of the songs and artists back to Microsoft with the promise of including songs for download if they’re popular enough, for some reason I don’t think Kevin Bloody Wilson will be picked up any time soon.

Another minor issue with the songs is none of them are duets, so two people are in fact singing the same bits in each song. With two microphones, it seems like another missed opportunity to make the game more fun.

Another bigger problem is the lack of online play. You can challenge a person to beat your score on a song, but they’ve completely left out the ability to sing together online. There may be issues with voice and lag, but surely some kind of mode could have been incorporated. They could have also given people the ability to record themselves and upload it to youtube, ala SingStar, but alas that’s missing too. There’s an attempt at an online community, but like much of the rest of the game, it feels worthless. Sure, it’s nice knowing that 324,093 people have sung your favourite song, but it’s pretty unnecessary. I also think it’s a bit broken – it’s improbable that not one single person has attempted to sing Coldplay’s Yellow since the games release.

Conclusion:
Lips does a good job at being a Karoke simulator. It looks and sounds great, it’s simple to get started, and the party mode really is a great idea. The list of songs has something for everyone, and the ability to download more songs increases its appeal. It’s precisely the type of game you can put on at a party and have some fun with.

The problem is it’s not very good at being a game, especially compared to the other music games available. For a single player, there’s not really much incentive to play through all the songs. Yes, singing is fun, but you don’t unlock anything, you can’t change the difficulty. The lack of online modes is also very disappointing.

PROS:
Simple and intuitive and slick looking interface
Microphones feel very well crafted
Varied selection of tunes to suit a wide range of people
Great fun in a party atmosphere

CONS:
Not much of a game – no incentives or unlockables
Can’t import lyrics with imported songs
Scoring on imported songs doesn’t make sense
Severe lack of online play.

73/100

24Seven, Review, Video Games, Writing

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3

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Could anyone possibly dislike a game that has Frankenfurter travel back in time and kill Einstein, then return to his time to find his Russia gloriously populated by hot, busty women in tight plastic outfits, only to be thwarted by an ex-MTV soft porn star, a host of psionic school girls and the Hoff? No, I thought not.

This is Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, the third sequel to the prequel of the Command and Conquer franchise… Errr, yes, it’s rather confusing if you don’t know the history of the games, but the basic premise is the Nazi’s never rose to power in Germany, allowing Russia to dominate Europe, much to the dismay of the Allies. In the future, the Russians become the Brotherhood of Nod, and the Allies the GDF which is what Command and Conquer deals with. The Red Alert series deals with the Russians and the Allies. Simple, right? Well, to make things a bit more complicated, Red Alert 3 introduces a new faction, the Japanese, who have mech robots and the aforementioned psionic schoolgirls.

But it doesn’t really matter if you don’t know the history of the franchise, as the premise of this edition is explained in glorious full action cutscenes throughout the game. Featuring real actors including J. K Simmons, Jenny McCarthy, Gerge Takei, David Hasslehoff and Tim Curry, these are worth the price of entry alone. Sure, it’s B-Grade, but it’s the best kind of B-Grade, being funny and entertaining, and they really set the vibe of the game incredibly well.

The game never takes itself too seriously, and gameplay wise is pretty much a traditional Real Time Strategy – it’s faster paced and relies a more on the rock/paper/scissor dynamic than being a matter of building your forces and “zerg” rushing your opponent. The xbox controller does it’s best to match a mouse and keyboard, although I did find myself wishing for them on more than a few occasions, but the online play is smoother than PC could ever be.

If you’ve liked the previous Red Alert games, then this is pretty much the same, just with more to see and do. If you’ve never played these games, you’re missing out on some of the best B-Grade action this side of the 90s.

3.5 Stars

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Call Of Duty: World At War

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The Call Of Duty franchise has always been one of the better shooter franchises, but Infinity Ward, with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, trumped all the other COD games by setting the game in modern times, and putting some killer scripted events in amongst the frantic and intense shooting. Not only that, it had one of the greatest online game components of any game, rivalling the Halo franchise for online fun.

When it was announced Treyarch, responsible for the competent but average Call of Duty 2: The Big Red One and Call of Duty 3, were bringing the franchise back to World War II, there was some consternation about the series. After all, World War II been the setting of more games than any other conflict, and there were big questions as to whether Treyarch could do the series justice.

The answer to that is “sort of”. Call of Duty: World At War is a great game, as nearly as good as Modern Warfare, but what you will get out of the game really depends on what you’re looking for. For someone really hankering to get a gritty World War II shooter with scripted events and good online play, then COD:WAW is perfect. But in my experience, playing the game felt like playing COD4 with a lick of paint, a mere expansion, than playing a new experience.

COD: WAW focuses on the Pacific and Russian fronts, two little explored areas of WWII by video games. These fronts were brutal and savage, and the game reflects the loading screens with footage not usually associated with WWII videogames. I found it to be an interesting experience – on the one hand the game was demonstrating the horrors of war, yet on the other hand it gave you a flamethrower that never exploded nor ran out of fuel (although it would overheat), and was incredibly fun to use on enemy troops, especially as they danced around on fire much like in Loonytoon cartoons.

That aside, the campaign is just as intense and fun as its predecessor. The scripted moments are just as intense as in COD4. The “on rails” section in the seaplane, jumping from gun to gun shooting Japanese boats and Zeros is fabulous fun, and the Russian tank kicking the crap out of the Germans section is incredibly satisfying. However, the story doesn’t feel as well put together as the previous title. The two fronts are so far apart from one another there’s less of a connection between them, and moreover you know who’s going to win, so it takes a little away from the whole experience. The campaign seemed short and relatively easy, which was a criticism of COD4 as well, but it is obvious single player is not really the focus of the franchise any more.

The campaign can be played multiplayer, with four friends battling through many of the maps together. There are some which aren’t available – it doesn’t seem right to have a mission with four snipers after all – but it allows you to approach the missions with a new perspective. Much like Halo 3, there’s cards you can pick up which alter the experience of playing, again making the campaign more fun a second or third time through.

The multiplayer is also just as fun as COD4. You can create classes and level up in much the same way, unlocking perks and weapons the more you play. The perks have been jigged a little to fit the times, however, with camouflage replacing UAV Jammer, but doing the exact same thing. The weapons feel a little imprecise compared to their COD4 counterparts, but that’s to be expected, as WWII weapons aren’t as good as those of modern warfare. Artillery and “spotter planes” (radar) make a return, and now you have attack dogs which tear around the map hunting the enemy.

The maps are set up similarly to COD4, being a mix of open and close quarters fighting, although there are a couple which include vehicles which add a nice dimension to play. In addition to the new, err, old WWII weapons, there are some unique weapons such as the aforementioned flamethrower, “bouncing betty” bomb and Molotov cocktails. There’s also the Nazi Zombie mode, unlocked after completing the main campaign mode, which is a survival mode against the shambling horde. It’s fun, but it’s not a patch on Left 4 Dead.

I must admit, the graphics didn’t really grab me. It looks “next gen” enough, and the pacific areas are quite lush and full of jungle foliage, but it just felt like playing every other WWII game when it really came down to it. Drab greens, browns and greys dominated the game, with a splash of Nazi red and fire here and there. Although I get the whole reality / grittiness of the graphics, I think it’s just a little overdone and wish people would think a little deeper about colour palettes. Sound, on the other hand, plays an incredible part in the game, and during the final battle for the Reichstag I was literally in awe of the sounds all around me, and it added immensely to one of the more powerful experiences of the game.

Conclusion:
Whilst it is obvious Treyarch put a lot of sweat and love into the game, Call Of Duty: World At War just doesn’t stand out as much as it’s predecessor. I’ve played scores of WWII games, and even with the slightly different story campaign settings and grittier overall feel, COD: WAW never felt much different from playing any other WWII game, nor even much different to playing COD4. It is a good World War II shooter, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but I feel it doesn’t have enough of its own identity to really win me over from playing COD4.

Pros:
Uses the COD4 engine to great effect
Great online play bot h competitive and cooperative
Nazi Zombies!

Cons:
Feels like every other WWII shooter
Short and easy single player campaign.

85/100

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Belleruche – The Express

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My first experience with Belleruche was earlier this year in Melbourne when I managed to catch them live. My initial thought was they were a poor man’s Portishead, but it’s an injustice to dismiss them simply as a copycat. Yes, Kathrin DeBoer’s soulful voice has the same smoky sexiness as Beth Gibbons, and the tracks combine turntables, samples and bass guitar, but Belleruche are a lot more positive in both the lyrics and general sound of the music itself, with the music being a little less complex and informed as Portishead.

Their first album was called Turntable Soul Music, and this album continues in the same vein, but is perhaps a little bluesier than before. Anything You Want (Not That) is a jazzy little upbeat number. Backyard is swinging backyards blues, with steel guitar over the simple beat of a drum machine. Idea Three gets a lot more funkier, but the blues returns in Goose Blues.

The record continues in the same vein with Like 4 The Hard Way, then gets a little more pace with Rumble Strip. My favourite track is How Many Times, a short and sweet rocking blues track. Scratch My Soul is the most downbeat on the album, a headnodding blend of echo-y guitar and scratched beats.

Late Train has that awesome blues train feel, accentuated by the horn stabs, and you can imagine an old steam train racing down the tracks as the song plays. The music being simply bass guitar, sampler/turntables and voice mean the music is pretty sparse and simple, unlike the aforementioned Portishead, and the space between sound and silence works especially well on You’re Listening To The World’s, the last track on the album.

I was really impressed with Belleruche’s second album. It’s distinctive and has a sense of cool about it. It’s similar to other music, without being copycat, filling a unique space in the catalogue of modern music.

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Midnight Club Los Angeles

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Midnight Club 3 Dub edition was one of my favourite driving games. It was just so much fun racing around the city in blinged out cars, bikes and suvs. It wasn’t too easy, but it had just the right amount of difficulty to keep you interested. Although Midnight Club Los Angeles differs from Dub in that it is bigger, better looking, better sounding, and the online functions are smoother, the extreme difficulty of the game puts you off that “just one more race” feeling of its predecessor.

The story set up is you’re a hotshot from the east coast come to LA to participate in races and score lots of loot. As you race, you gain reputation which will unlock more races, unlock parts for you cars, unlock new cars and bikes, and reward you money so you can afford to upgrade your vehicle. Pretty standard fare really.

There are different colours of races – Green, Yellow, Orange and Red, meant to indicate the toughness of the race. I say “meant to”, because there doesn’t seem a whole lot of difference between green and red in reality. The difficulty of this game isn’t hard, it’s brutal, so be prepared to lose. Often. Be prepared to be leading a race from start to finish, and losing at the last second because you slightly swipe a car in traffic and go careening off the road. Often it’s better to just let go of all the buttons and come to a stop. Or select Start > Restart Race.

I found the physics to be really detrimental to my efforts at driving. When you drive really fast the camera blurs and the cars get speed wobbles, making it really hard to drive at speed, especially down curvy streets with parked cars on the side. If you so much as skim another vehicle you will lose control and start to spin. Of course once this happens, the natural instinct is to compensate, which makes everything much worse.

Moreover, even when you’re in the clear in a race, out in front by a number of street blocks, the ridiculously tight rubberbanding – the AI code used to make the other cars catch up to you – kicks you in the pants and will overtake you, even though mere seconds ago the car wasn’t even on your radar. Although I didn’t find myself ahead often, I was beaten enough times after leading the entire race that I’m positive the cars teleport metres behind you when you get too far ahead. AI Controlled cars seem to never hit parked cars or on-coming traffic as often as you do, either, but instead take perfect lines through traffic and obstacles. Even if you try and follow them, you’ll find often they make gaps that a normal driver could simply not make.

What makes this the more frustrating is you’ll get to a point where you simply have no option but to race the same race again and again and again. Yes, you’ll learn the race and the lay out and the shortcuts (the AI cars take these too, however) but it seems that no matter what you do, how well you drive, that it is simply luck that sees you win or lose, and not your skill, patience or knowledge of the tracks.

Another problem with the game is the map. The overhead “google maps” type navigation system looks quite slick, but it’s wearisome to use. You can’t get GPS style readouts at all, and often it’s not entirely clear where to go, especially in some of the “open” races or delivery missions. And the game has the problem of having some obstacles looking like you can drive through, and others which will bring you to a dead stop.

The annoying thing is not all the races are as bad as each other. Time Trials are ridiculously harsh, and races with more than 2 cars are controller throwing maddening, but it is the Delivery missions take the cake of everything that is wrong with the game. You’re just racing the clock; you are given a marker on the map, and told not to damage the car – what could be simpler? Yet the slightest bump will knock a huge slab of the damage meter, the time is preposterously short, and all the while you’re constantly pulling up the map to see if you’ve taken the right road to get to the location.

However Freeway races are really quite fun, as there’s only one other racer and up to 8 lanes of freedom to weave between traffic. It’s also easy to know where to go – simply stay on the freeway. And simply cruising around looking for the hidden packages to unlock the cheats is awesome fun! Cop chases are a thrill – they’re supposed to be right behind you! And swiping a car, spinning around, and zooming off in the opposite direction is often a godsend compared to the rest of the game.

Online racing is fun as well. Of course, being human opponents, you know the races are much farer, and lag never seems an issue. You can opt to simply cruise around Los Angeles, chatting with people and then propose a challenge which gets you into the races. You can also jump straight into a race from the menu. Races take the forms found in the offline game, but you’ve got the option of turning traffic off, as well as making your own races. There’s also capture the flag races, when you race to capture a flag and then race to another point to win. These can take the form of team games, and is comparable to my favourite xbox game – Midtown Madness 3.

No doubt about it, MCLA looks sweet. The city feels realistic, even if the driving doesn’t. There’s enough variety in the city to make you want to explore, from long highway straights to windy hilly roads. As you cruise around, you’ll notice advertising, but it’s subtle, like 7-11 branded service stations and the occasional Pizza Hut. No idea if these are in the same place in the real city of Los Angeles, but it does aid a little in navigation.

The cars all look great, but there are only 44 cars and bikes to choose from, which feels quite limited compared to other games. The customisation of vehicles is pretty deep though, allowing you to change the hoods, sides, wings, doors and so on, as well as use real world branded parts. Although not as deep as Forza, for example, you can even share and rank other people’s cars online.

Sound wise the game is also respectable. The cars sound grunty enough, and the screams of the people on the sidewalks as you cut corners are hilarious. However, the AI will taunt you during all races, and as you often race the same people and same races, it gets tired real quick. Also being based on the west coast, everyone sounds like a stereotypical gangster. I was really impressed with the music – lots of bass type music like hiphop, breakbeat, and techno, with a bit of heavy rock thrown in as well, but it will tend to repeat itself more frequently than in other games.

Conclusion:
Midnight Club Los Angeles is a decent game in all respects apart from the insane difficulty. The good races are great, and online modes are lots of fun. I realise some people like high difficultly in games, and get a great feeling of achievement when they beat the AI. However, in MCLA the difficulty borders on masochistic, and to me it isn’t very fun when you’re improving your driving, improving you car, to be beaten time and again at the last minute, and playing the same race over and over again.

Pros:
Great looking racing game
Deep customisation of cars
Realistic feeling city of LA

Cons:
Insanely difficult.
Physics and camera effects when racing fast hinder play
Map, whilst clever in design, doesn’t really do a good job
Repetitive and annoying AI taunts during races

75/100

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Baobinga and ID – Big Monster Dubstep EP

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Baobinga & I.D’s album is one of the best releases of this year – of any genre. If you haven’t got it, go out and get it. Anyway, this ep features dubstep remixes of some of the tunes by ID, Hektagon and DFRNT. All up, it’s not bad, But when the originals are as good as they are, it’s pretty hard to stuff them up.

ID’s remix of South Manchester Weather sounds more breakbeat than dubstep to me. It’s kind of like Freq Nasty’s earlier stuff, just not as full on crazy. The bass is big, but the traditional dubstep vibe isn’t quite there.
Hektagon’s remix of The Water Park is nothing special. It strips back the original, but doesn’t do anything great with it to make it a standout track.

Many dubstep tunes feel as though they’re trying too hard to be different. However, DFRNT’s remix of In the Air is nice and mellow without being too wanky and experimental, and is one of the best remixes on the EP.

Similarly DFRNT’s remix of The Machine is good. It’s almost like old school trance at the start, but gets more dubsteppy in the main meat of the tune. I like this tune the best, but the original is a fucking awesome tune anyway, so it’s not hard to like it so much.

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

PES 09

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When I played Pro Evolution Soccer for the first time about 3 years, I was instantly sold on it. Sure, the game had funny names for teams and players, and the presentation was poor, but none of that mattered because the gameplay on the pitch was so good. It was the first time I felt like I was playing a game of soccer that closely replicated the actual physical game. The player’s skill numbers actually felt like they meant something, the team play was terrific, and the game felt responsive and fun.

But oh my, how the mighty fall. PES 09 doesn’t feel like the same series I fell in love with 3 years ago. Although there have been some improvements in getting real teams and players and adding some new modes, the actual game itself seems to have suffered as a result. Although it’s on the same engine as it has been for the last 3 years, there is an enormous gap of quality between PES 6 and PES 09.

The first thing I noticed which has changed for the worse is the team play. I can’t understand why it has changed, but players seem to flock around the ball rather than play the field. They’re often out of position or worse, get in one another’s way. This is particularly true of defence, and it means the opposition will find holes in your defence more often than they should. Players no longer make decent runs, or will run straight into opposition players instead of seeking out open space.

Passing has changed so now you hold the A button for longer passes. This is a good idea on paper, but let down by poor implementation. Often a player will run to the ball, but it will suddenly decide it can’t get their and stop their run. And I mean stop to a complete standstill while another player gets the ball, or to simply watch the ball go out of bounds. PES has always played along the 8 directions of the joypad, but now it seems if the ball and player aren’t lined up completely, the game gives the ball up.

Worse still is the physics. The ball now simply doesn’t feel right. The ball feels ultra heavy – it will stop dead far sooner than it’s meant to, meaning through balls feel wasted most of the time. And although PES has always had a problem with the ball bouncing off players, now it seems even worse. Players scramble over the balls, with the ball bouncing off players like a pinball.

Then there’s the issue PES always has had that still haven’t been addressed. Like throw-ins, where the opposition has an exclusion zone preventing the player from positioning and pressuring during the throw. FIFA 09 allows players to jostle during thrown balls, and this artifice of PES makes it seem really outdated. Also trying to score from free kicks still feels as pointless as ever. Yes, you can score, but the ability to get it right still feels like luck instead of skill. And turning kicks at goals still fly over the bar every time, no matter how much or how little power you apply.

It’s not all bad, and you will still experience some of the brilliance of the former games. Although crosses seem a little weaker, volleys still look and feel awesome when they smash into the back of the net. The pace is brisker than FIFA, yet measured. Results are still far more realistic. Although 5-nil games aren’t unheard of in PES, the occurrence isn’t nearly as frequent as FIFA, even when playing on the easier settings.

PES 09 has secured the rights of the UEFA Championship League, which is quite the coup. You can choose to play this league right off the main menu, and like previous titles, the league mode is as great as ever. You will get sick of hearing the UEFA music though. And PES still has the better manager mode, and once you get into it, the deep gameplay will have you rapt. The player improvement and transfers and all the other things which make this mode great are still in place. And now even the menu system is slightly less convoluted as before! PES also has the better method of displaying of team and player stats, meaning you can tell how good a team is and where a player’s strength lies just by looking at the skill pentagram. This is far better than FIFAs 100 points system.

A new mode to tackle FIFA Be A Pro, introduced in last years FIFA, is Become A Legend. Like FIFA, you control one player and run them through their career. Unlike FIFA, you’re not limited by their seasons, but by their age, which means you can play your pro until retirement at age 35. However, it is the much poorer cousin to FIFA’s excellent offering. You will play many squad v squad matches in order to get to you main team, and these are just on the training pitch with no crowd and no commentary. Realistic, probably, but quite boring in actuality. You can skip these, but then you don’t get XP to expand the player.

You’re rewarded for the way you play like FIFA, but there’s absolutely no feedback on the pitch. It assumes you know the sport. Of course if you have poor positioning like offsides, slide too much and get carded you, you will get a bad rating, but if you don’t know much about soccer, you’re going to get a little lost. To help, holding the left bumper makes player go into position, but some sort of onscreen direction would be preferable.
The online system is sort of weird. You sign into servers which show how many people are playing, then from there look for a quick game or ranked match. It feels a little awkward. Unfortunately I’ve only managed to have one game against a friend, although it was much better than PES 08, being smoother with far less lag, it was no where near the quality of FIFA 09’s online connections.

The game looks and sounds like PES has for the last 3 years. Menus are a little cleaner and more intuitive, but not by much. The players look a little better, but I think the player animations on field have gotten worse. I’ve seen players animate for a big kick even though I simply moved the joystick left or right. I’ve also seen the ball pass through a players legs, and it looked like all the animations played at once with the player spazzing out. However, other animations look cool, like when players automatically spin past other players.

Sound wise the music once again is what the Japanese developers think is “cool” amongst soccer fans at the moment. None of it is by any recognisable group, and although it’s not completely terrible, it’s not fantastic by any means. Commentary is almost exactly the same as last year. There is a little more banter played at the end of the game and after goals and goal chances, but it gets repetitive really quickly.

Conclusion:
PES has always been the little game that could. It’s faced the might of EA and delivered a soccer game that has been superior for most of its lifetime. However, lately EA seem to have suddenly “got” what players want, and have dished up a mighty fine game in FIFA 09. On the other hand Konami have seemed to rest on their laurels, and for possibly the first time have dropped the ball and seen FIFA take the win.

PROS
– UEFA Champions League mode
– The usual deep Manager Mode
– Still a good game of soccer
– Less lag than previous PES titles.

CONS
– Team play, ball physics and passing seem to have gotten worse
– Become a Legend mode doesn’t show any on screen help during play
– No other real improvements to the game
– Commentary gets repetitive really quickly

79/100

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Balance Presents Electric 04 mixed by Agent 86

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I’m not going to mince words – Agent 86 is one of the finest DJs in the country. The fact he can mix a variety of genres, in tune, as well as scratch up a storm simply blows me away every time I see him, and it is beyond my comprehension why he hasn’t been voted the number 1 DJ in inthemix’s DJ poll as of yet. I guess it’s because he’s a quiet achiever, all about the music rather than the scene.

Overall on the latest Balance Presents Electric, we find a very relaxed, breezy summery kind of vibe, funky, discoy and lots of fun, with tunes that sound like they could be from any era from the 70s to today, which essentially makes them timeless.

Some of the highlights are Aeroplane’s Pacific Air Race, the funky 80s disco vibe of Tease Me by Bermuda, the utterly groovy Fog by LSB, the Jackson’s sounding Shake That Booty by Soundtroopers and the 303 acid flashback of Bermuda’s Galaxy Race.

All throughout Agent 86 drops scratches from 70s disco classics (Dynamite! Outta Sight!) and the first landing of man onto the moon, creating an amazing soundscape that celebrates life and man’s great achievements, including making some funky ass music!

I’m not normally all that much of a fan of the housey disco sound, preferring breaks and hiphop, but it’s really growing on me, and combined with Agent 86s transcendently smooth mixing, this is a CD which will get play on many occasions, from getting ready to go clubbing to relaxing on a sunny Sunday afternoon with good friends and good brews.

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

Ice Cube – The Essentials

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Covering Ice Cube’s career since NWA, this compilation shows without a doubt Ice Cube made it well and truly on his own as a rap MC. Although some think he has kind of lost it with his appearance in kiddy movies, his later raps are just as aggressive and confrontational as his early stuff.

The album opens with his 2006 track Go To Church with Lil’ Jon and Snoop Dog, a blistering attack on the prudes of the world. Also from 2006 is the live version of Why We Thugs / Smoke Some Weed, recorded in Perth, so this is an obvious tour tie in, but shouldn’t be dismissed because of that.

Pretty much all his best work is on here. From AmeriKKKa’s Most wanted we have Rollin’ With The Lench Mob and A Gangster’s Fairy Tale. From his best album, Death Certificate, there is Bird In The Hand, Givin’ Up The Nappy Dugout and The Wrong Nigga To Fuck With. From The Predator this compilation contains It Was A Good Day, When Will They Shoot and perhaps his most famous, Check Yo Self.

The album also contains Supreme Hustle, Greed, and War & Peace from War & Peace Vols 1 & 2. Whilst not as well known as his first few albums, these mid 90s tracks show the subject and witticism of his rhymes hasn’t changed much, even though the world did. Even the last track, 2008s Cold Places shows Ice Cube still has strong views on Black politics in the United States.

If you’re not a fan of Ice Cube, you’re not going to like this, and even I got a little bored of all the “fuck”, “bitches” and N*words throughout his rhymes. But I gotta admit, he does swear very well. And if you are already a fan you’ve probably got all his best stuff anyway. But considering the tour, and the fact he’s not had a ‘best of’ before, The Essentials is a great introduction to those who maybe only know some of Ice Cube’s more popular tunes.

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

FIFA 09

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Last year, when I reviewed PES 08, I mentioned that FIFA wasn’t in the same league as PES, explaining “People don’t play FIFA because it’s the superior soccer game; they play it because it’s got all the teams and players’ people love, straight out of the box”. Although I only jumped on the PES bandwagon 3 years ago, I can see that PES has consistently been the better soccer game. Me and some mates still play PES 08 on a weekly basis (albeit on a far inferior console) whereas my copy of FIFA 08 actually has a fine layer of dust on it.

But when people rest on their laurels, as Konami has done a little with the last few PES games, a competitor can get the edge. And when that competitor is EA, the biggest publisher in the world, it gets very, very interesting. Because, if Konami don’t address the issues of that last couple of PES games, then I think FIFA will be the better game this year.

First thing you’ll notice is the fluid and organic player animation. Beautifully rendered, you’ll see them flow naturally from one move to the next as they move down the pitch. This is true of the overhead cams, and the closer third person perspective of be-a-pro mode. It’s also functional – you’ll notice a tired player leaning over with hands on knees. A player wanting a pass will throw their hand up. And a scoring player can now be made to do celebratory moves like the robot and belly slide.

AI is vastly improved, with players running into position and dealing intelligently with the ball. A player will trap a ball if it comes to them, or chest the ball to their feet, or leap over a sliding tackle and regain control over the ball. Players will run onto the ball, spring the offside trap intelligently, and call for passes when they’re in the clear. It’s not completely perfect – I’ve seen an opposition goal keeper kick the ball as my player was running past, and my player stopped the ball and scored. There are also the errant passes that go straight instead of to the side, but these feel far less frequent than other soccer games of the past.

The ball and the players have a real physical presence, as in past years and other games, but usually this hasn’t been implemented that well, with the ball bouncing off players at wrong angles and generally not feeling right. This time it feels almost perfect. Balls will die in open space, creating opportunities for faster pace men on your team. Get a strong player running with the ball, and they’ll athletically jostle for the ball, knocking a running player off their line and allowing you to tackle without resorting to a slide and invariably a free kick.

Speaking of free kicks, FIFA 09 is far more forgiving with play ons, with the Referee allowing play to continue. Once the ball goes out of play then cards are given, which can seem a little silly, but it’s better than the game stopping and starting. It’s still harsh with the Offside, giving it in situations that no linesman or ref ever could in real life, but it works both ways and has saved me as many times as hurt me.

As always, FIFA is packed with features. Manager mode is still here, and whilst it’s marginally better than last year and still relatively easy to use and understand, it still is not as deep as PES’ offering. With the copious number of teams and leagues to choose from, it’s a great long term game play option, especially if you begin in the lower leagues. Some people have issues with the AI controlled teams not trading players in and out, but to me that’s a minor gripe. Similarly Tournament mode has had some small tweaks, but feels as solid as last year. Some criticism last year were directed at the mode for not being realistic enough in terms of dates and calendars – I wouldn’t know if that has been fixed, as again, I’m not that much of a “real life” soccer nut nor that nit picky.

The Be-A-Pro mode returns, and this time around gets the most love. Offering you the choice to create your own player, his position, and play through four seasons from reserves to major, all the whilst improving the player, it’s another deep and interesting addition to the FIFA game. I made a player for Adelaide United in the A-League, and it was so satisfying whomping the ball into the net against Melbourne Victory, and then being called up for the reserves match to play for Australia against Slovenia. This year the feedback given on where you are meant to be is more direct and helpful, but it’s still difficult to play the back line well.

But where Be A Pro mode really shines is online. You can now play 10 on 10 in the BAP online, and with up to 10 people playing in a set position during a match, it’s probably the closest you’ll get to play the beautiful game for real. There is no lack of people playing, so you can always pick up a match. It’s a rush to nominate for the best positions, but the old adage is true – every player has their part to play. Sure, sometimes it feels like playing with a bunch of abusive under 5 year olds who’ll run off the field as soon as the icecream man drives past, but with a serious bunch of people the matches are just as intense as a real league game. Furthermore lag hasn’t been a problem in any of the game I’ve played, a considerable feat seeing as I had people from the UK, Canada, Australia and Spain in my games.

To aid in playing as a team on online games, FIFA introduces a Club mode, which is analogous to Clans. You have a bunch of people in the club, and these people can arrange matches against other clubs. On top of the online leagues and ranked matches, there is now almost as many options in Live as in single player, a real impressive feat.

One thing that really impressed me are the Achievements. Usually soccer games give you achievements for winning this league or that derby or completing the modes. In FIFA 09 they’re based on what you do in the actual matches, and this in turn helps you become a better player. For example, there’s an achievement for scoring a goal from a bicycle kick, and I’ve decided I want to get it, so I’ve been trying to perfect the bicycle kick. It’s helping me learn and play the game better.

I’ve already mentioned the fluid player animation, and the good looks don’t stop there. The stadiums look amazing, and player likeness is nearly spot on. The BAP player creator is robust and you can create good renditions of yourself, but they didn’t include a Tiger Woods import a photo option for your player, which is a little disappointing. Also disappointing are the menus – they’ve been standardised across all EA sports games and work a bit like the Xbox menu blades, but I’m still not sold on the whole idea.

Sound wise the game is equally impressive, with the thud off the ball sounding spot on, and crowds chanting your clubs’ name as you play, spurring you on. The commentary by Andy Gray and Martin Tyler can sometimes they fall behind the play and become a bit repetitive, but that’s the nature of sports commentary really.

Conclusion:
We’ll just have to wait and see if PES 09 delivers the goods to match this year, but EA have finally delivered a decent competitor in FIFA 09. The marketing team says there are over 250 changes to this year, and I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know this game is a vastly superior product to past FIFA games, and is a superb game. If you’re a FIFA fan, you will be impressed by the changes, especially online, and will count this as one of the best.

If you’re a past FIFA player who hasn’t liked the direction the game has been going, or feel its just the same old same old, pick it up and I guarantee you’ll be impressed with the depth and the way the game plays. I appreciate there are people who just won’t play FIFA because it’s Electronic Arts, or they only play PES Master League because it’s deeper, but I honestly think these people will be missing out on one of the greatest soccer games of this generation.

Pros:
Amazingly fluid and organic player animations
Excellent ball and player physics
Incredible amount of options and modes
Fantastic online play in Be A Pro Online

Cons:
Menus can be annoying
Manager Mode still lacks depth of other sports games

90/100