Tag Archives: 2009

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Assassin’s Creed II

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Assassin’s Creed was one of those games that showed a lot of promise. It was a refreshing story set mostly in a time that’s never before been explored in games, and setting the game in the Animus, visiting the memories of relatives was not only a clever way of presenting the game to the player, but opens potential as a series instead of just a standalone title. The title’s hero, the acrobatic Altaïr, was well designed and had some great moves. However, it was let down by repetitive gameplay, sometimes awkward combat, and a frustrating lack of cohesiveness to the whole experience.

Assassin’s Creed II starts off with Desmond Miles escaping the Templar controlled Abstergo research facility / prison setting of the first game, and taken to a safe house with a new Animus, this time run by the much friendlier bunch of people aligned to the Assassin’s Guild. This time, the search for the ancient technology delves into the memories of the life of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a likeable rogue living in Renaissance Italy, whose merchant family become involved in the conflict between the Templars and Assassins.

Unlike Altaïr, Ezio is not trained as an assassin from the start of the game, so instead of having a bunch of skills and losing them like in the first game, as you progress through the game you gain your skills and weapons of the trade. This makes the game far more enjoyable, as the first hour or so you get to just run and jump and brawl at your own pace, exploring the city of Firenze (Florence) and getting to know the character of Enzio and his allies. Enzio is a lovable rogue like Han Solo or the Dread Pirate Roberts; quick of wit and good of heart. When it does come time to fight and assassinate another person, the progression seems natural to both the story and the character of Enzio, who’s motivated by revenge and not any other shady purpose.

As likeable as Ezio is the real star of the show is the world he inhabits. Renaissance Italy is alive in this game. The streets are crowded with people going about their business, and unlike the first game you can blend in with any group, instead of having to wait for priests. Admittedly most are just walking around in circles, but the paths they follow and clever placement of guards hides the fact these are predetermined cycles, and make you believe the people have a purpose beyond hiding you. You can now enlist the aid of courtesans to hide you and distract guards, and the thieves and thugs return and appear far more able than the previous game.

Like the first game, the free running aspect truly shines. Jumping up to the rooftops and sprinting across tiled roofs and making leaps of faith into straw bales is still a tonne of fun. Paths are made far more obvious, and you don’t seem to make as many mistakes. The tall spires of Italy’s Churches make for some excellent vantage points, and the absence of Templars just standing around doing nothing at the bottom of them make exploring the verticality of the city much less of a chore.

There are a bunch of side missions to do, such as assassin contracts, races, and beating up cheating husbands. These are pleasurable distractions from the main quests, and net you some coin. Adding to this is the Assassin Vaults, six locations spread throughout Italy where you have to use Ezio’s athletic skills to get to remote vaults to unlock Altaïr’s armour. These Prince of Persia style puzzles will have you jumping and running and swinging, trying to get to a certain point before the time runs out. Whilst a little frustrating especially when Ezio jumps the wrong way from a wall jump, these challenges break up the other action of the game well.

There is also an economy of sorts. Enzio is given refuge in his uncle Mario’s home. Just as an aside, when Ezio meets his uncle it’s one of the most humorous moments in the game. Mario’s home is run down, the city in disrepair, but by gaining money from side missions and robbing chests, you can improve the citadel by upgrading buildings and beautifying the building with Renaissance art from the likes of Bruges and Da Vinci. As you improve the citadel, you gain access to better weapons and armour.

What I haven’t mentioned is all of these things are optional. You can just simply follow the story line quests, and zip through the game. But these activities unlock better items and make the game easier that they’re all worth doing. Also, they’re just a hell of a lot of fun. And the main missions themselves are quite a bit different from before. There is a heap of variety this time; you don’t simply do the same bunch of tasks to find and then kill the bad dude like the last game. This time you can bash your way through guards, leap from a rooftop, sneak up to your mark and then shoot him, or climb up a big tower and dispatch him. There’s even a part where you fly over a fortified wall in Da Vinci’s flying apparatus!

The fighting has been refined too, made simpler but more engaging. Taking a leaf from Arkham Asylum, the fights flow more fluidly, relying on timing and grace. You won’t get all the guards piling on at once; rather they’ll wait for an opening before attacking. Countering is still the best way to dispatch an enemy, but you can disarm enemies and use their weapons against them. This is particularly useful against heavily armoured foes.

There are still some issues with movement in the game. Sometimes Ezio will leap the wrong way from a wall jump, or will miss a beam you’re aiming for, or won’t edge around a wall properly. There was one particular tower where I would try and jump up to a higher ledge, but he would jump backwards into a leap of faith. There are also some minor clipping issues when fighting, and I once got trapped in some unfinished mesh because I evaded into the chimney of a roof, but these are really minor bugs and didn’t deter my enjoyment of the game.

Otherwise the game looks great. Ezio’s movements are graceful and elegant. The recreation of Renaissance Italy is superb, and the costumes and characters feel authentic. The inclusion of real life persons adds to this greatly, but the authentic sounds make it greater still. From Ezio’s footsteps on the tiled roofs, to the shop assistants yelling, to the sounds of the forge, it all creates a sense of realness. The only problem is the Italian-English accents, as it’s a little hackneyed in some parts.

Conclusion
After Assassin’s Creed, I was a little worried that the series would simply fade away. So many other Ubisoft games have suffered because of sequelitis, but the premise was interesting enough that I would like to see its conclusion. Playing Assassin’s Creed II, one can’t help but think Ubisoft really did listen to the criticism of the last game. Everything has been expanded upon and improved. That which didn’t work well was removed, and that which did was left in and improved upon. And the work done to improving the game has made it into one of the better games to come out this year.

Pros:
Great continuation of the story
Excellent amount of variety both in main missions and side missions
Likable character living in an excellently created world that shines both visually and aurally
Superb game mechanics of the first game refined

Cons:
Some minor graphical issues
Accents can sound a bit hackneyed.

90/100

Event, Faster Louder, Music, Review, Writing

Hilltop Hoods @ Festival Hall, Melbourne

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I’ve never really got the sense Festival Hall was all that big until I saw Vents One and DJ Adfu on stage. With the pair on the sparse stage in front of the massive crowd, they looked miniscule. Plus they had a hard task, opening up for Australia’s most popular hiphop act, the Hilltop Hoods, and it was clear the crowd weren’t going to suffer fools lightly.

However, Vents One is one of my favourite Aussie rappers; intelligent, witty, with the right amount of aggressiveness in his rhyme delivery but with an exciting party vibe, and every time I see him he has rocked the crowd. Melbourne was no exception, as he and DJ Adfu bounded across the stage they got the crowd jumping with their rawkus rhyming, busting out tracks such as Hard To Kill, Five Minutes to Midnight, NBC, a new track called Rollin’ Balls, and even getting the crowd singing along with Love Song (aka the NaNaNa song).

As soon as they stopped however, the chanting for Hilltops started, and was loudest coming from the underage area. It was phenomenal and I haven’t heard that kind of noise since seeing the Hilltops perform with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. When DJ Debris stepped up on stage, and the video screen behind him lit up with decks and a mixer animated in the style of their record sleeves, the crowd went nuts.

Suffa and Pressure bounded out on stage, dropping Super Official to open. With the screen lit up, and the guys jumping around and busting out their hits from State of the Art, they filled the stage with their presence, seemingly growing in stature, no longer eclipsed by a giant, almost empty stage. They busted out Still Standing, speeding their rhymes and beats at the conclusion of the song to a blistering pace, welcomed from the roar of the crowd.

Feel The Vibe had everyone with their hands in the air, and had one of the longest pauses between versus that made the crowd scream with delight when Pressure dropped it. In between songs Debris dropped Dance of the Sugar Plumb Fairies and they shot out t-shirts to the crowd. They busted State of the Art over Led Zeppelin’s I Wanna Give You My Love.

But this was only the beginning. Pressure and Suffa both dropped rhymes acapella during Last Confession, showing they’ve still got the skills to pay the bills. Nose Bleed Section was a crowd favourite, as always, followed by a new tune For the Ladies. And for the Light You Burned, easily my favourite on the album, they brought both Vents and Briggs (who played earlier but whom I unfortunately missed out on) out for a verse each. And I’m still astounded at how well the boys sing on this track!

After a short intermission, the words “Hill” “A” “Toppa” appeared on stage, and the lights rose to show these were LCD Screens the back of their hoodies, before dropping the hillatoppa track. She’s So Ugly followed, with Suffa lambasting the press for being so negative about hiphop culture. They called out the dude with the Hilltops tattoo and told him it was his round, and finished up with Clown Prince.

Being an Adelaide boy, I swell with pride when I think of how successful the Hilltop Hoods have become. From rhyming in the back yards of mates in the Adelaide Hills and weird festivals with less than 200 people, to headlining festivals and selling out their own shows, it’s hard not to be proud of their achievements. Many other Australian acts cast aside their roots when they reach a certain level of fame, choosing to go the easy route option to get cash, and ignoring those who supported them. The fact the Hilltop Hoods support lesser known local acts like Vents and Briggs who had beginnings similar to them, bringing them in front of the huge audiences they can now command, show that they’re as committed to the Australian hiphop scene as they ever were.

Event, Faster Louder, Review, Writing

Australasian World Music Expo @ Hifi Bar

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Rocking up to the Hifi Bar on a very warm Thursday night, we were greeted by a packed house, digging the sounds of an invisible DJ. Not entirely sure where they were playing from, maybe the top bar section, but it was a nice blend of afro and dub beats. Fairly appropriate, given this was the opening night of the Australasian World Music Expo.

AWME is the Australia-Pacific region’s premier music industry conference and showcase of Indigenous, roots and world music. It features films, talks and shows concentrating on music from our neighbours and the more far flung areas of Australia. And it also has a hell of a lot of talented musicians who come to showcase their skills at gigs like this.

Not long after grabbing a beer, the first of many drinks I had to consume to combat the heat of the underground venue, Dubmarine stepped up to play. Hailing from Queensland, this young group of musicians funked it up with their own take on dub reggae, jumping around and generally having a grand ol’ time. I recognised some of their tunes, including Point The Bone, probably from PBS radio. Cat Walker, the female vocalist, has an amazing voice for such a petite girl. D-Kaz the lead singer has a very interesting stage presence, reminding me a lot of the front man of Adelaide band Bliss. Don’t worry if you don’t know them – I’m old and they disbanded in the late 90s – let’s just say he has an over-abundance of energy.

We wandered outside for a smoke, and got to talking with some of the sizable crowd outside. Now, I don’t smoke myself, but my friends do, and I really don’t like this smoking outside business. It really kills the vibe inside the club. Sure, it prevents you from getting lung cancer or at least smelly clothes, but at what cost? After all, this is a reggae gig, there needs to be a haze of funky smelling smoke above the crowd!

It also invites trouble as drunken wankers walk past and hurl abuse at you for no good reason. Good thing the bouncers moved him along quite quickly, but if people are wondering why there’s an increase of violence, this is why! If we were all inside, there wouldn’t be any drunken wankers hassling us for having a good time; not at this gig anyway.

Heading back down we were greeted by the sight of 17 people gracing the stage, showing up how tiny it really is. The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra belted out some great African rhythms, with the girls shaking their thang and the guys jumping around. About half way through they were joined on stage by Tumi, a South African MC who was quite good, with what I heard any way. I’m not sure if it was because of where we were standing, or the size of the band, or just poor sound engineering, but they sounded quiet and muddy severely disappointing given the venue’s reputation, and worrying given the Red Eye’s need for good bass sound.

However, when the Red Eyes did take the stage, the sound was back to its superb self. I saw the Red Eyes open for Easy Street All Stars, and was very impressed with the authenticity in their sound. Here was no different, as they played their more popular tracks like Rude World and Arms Over Jordan amongst others, plus a new track called Curious. The band is tight as the proverbial, and lead vocalist El Witeri has an amazing stage presence, a real old school feel like Mick Jagger, as he prances and struts around stage. Although I have to wonder if he is sponsored by bonds, as every gig he rips his singlet.

The Mad Professor joined them on stage half way through. I thought he was just going to DJ, but was pleasantly surprised when he started tweaking their sound live on stage. The sound this man can get out of a live band is incredible. Running everything through about half a million filters, the bass became phenomenal, and the effects on El’s voice and the horns section simply astounding. They did covers of tracks such as A Little Way Different by Errol Dunkley – which was sampled by drum and bass pioneers DRS and Kenny Ken and the reason I know the tune – plus Waterhouse Rock, originally done by Big Youth, amongst others I knew, but couldn’t tell you the names of. I thoroughly enjoyed this portion of the gig, but was exhausted after jumping around all night. I left when the Mad Professor and the Red Eyes took their bows and exited the stage, but the crowd was screaming for more, so am unsure if there was an encore.

Given this was the opening night of the Australasian World Music Expo, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to Womad. Sure, Womad is held over 4 days outside in Adelaide’s beautiful parklands, but the vibe of the crowd was exactly the same. It was hot, people were drinking, but they were happy, excited, gracious and fun. ‘United by Music’ is a phrase hippies like to throw about so often, but this was honestly true of this gig. It’s just a shame it could have been ruined by an idiot outside the venue, but hats off to the bouncers for making that scenario not come to fruition.

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Need For Speed: Shift

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The Need For Speed franchise has had its ups and downs over the last few years. Some people enjoyed games like Hot Pursuit and Undercover but others felt the whole cops and robbers thing was a little dull and uninspired. Need For Speed: Shift (NFSS) attempts to change direction and bring track racing back to the world of NFS. It does an admirable job of it, but with a whole heap of other racing game franchises competing for your dollar at the moment, does it enough to distinguish itself from the pack?

When you start NFSS you have a practice race which tests your driving ability and then sets the games difficulty based on how well you drove. There are options such as assisted cornering, showing the race line, automatic gears changes amongst others which will give people of all different skill levels easy access into the game. This is a great way to introduce the game to the player without using a silly tutorial and allows you to get used to the controls and pace of the game.

Like so many other racing games, the set up is you’re a career driver, and you have to earn points and money to be able to compete in the later tiers of racing. You begin with a modest amount of money with which you purchase a modest car in which you race against other modest cars. However, after a few races, you’ll start getting invites to other types of races, where you can race not so modest cars. This breaks up the monotony of the early driving quite nicely.

Winning a race isn’t the be all and end all of this game. When you race, you’re rewarded points for how you are driving, similar to the Kudos system in Project Gotham Racing. However, unlike Kudos, you get rewarded points for precision as well as aggressive driving. Precision driving points are awarded for overtaking cleanly, following the correct drivers line and taking corners well. Aggressive driving points are rewarded for knocking bumpers, drifting, hitting on overtaking, and spinning opponent cars off the track.

I really liked this system. It rewards you for driving how you want to drive. If you want to nudge every car off the track whilst risking your own, then you’re rewarded for it. If you want to get out in front early and do a clean lap, then you’re rewarded for it. You’re never punished for doing something, nor is the points system designed to punish you for driving one way or the other.

Reaching the podium lands you a certain number of stars, and reaching a certain amount of points also nets you some stars, and also completing bonus objectives, such as spinning out 4 opponents, or completing a clean lap, will gain you a star. The amount of stars you have determines how much money you earn, and also unlock higher tiers.

There is an incredible amount of variety once you open a few more tiers. There’s one on one drag type races, supercar races, time trials, endurance races, regular 1, 2 or 3 lap races and much, much more. The game doesn’t feel like an out and out simulation, but it’s not too arcadey either. It’s a nice blend of the two, and the difficulty levels help you refine your preference better. The difficulty of the actual races is a little off, however. There are some races where you can blitz the field and get all the stars, and other races in the same tier, even in the same categories, that are ridiculously hard to come out on top. You might still win, but you’ll have trouble getting all the stars, or conversely, you might get all the bonuses, and not reach the podium.

But the biggest downfall of the game is the drifting. Oh boy, does it suck. When racing in a normal race, you can drift around corners fine, and it feels like it should. In the drifting races, there’s a whole new HUD meter which isn’t really explained, and a whole different feel to the car. It’s like someone has reversed the oversteer settings, and instead of flowing naturally around the corners, you wrestle with the controls and spin out, or don’t spin at all. Luckily, there is enough racing in the game to get points to unlock tiers for you to avoid it altogether.

The game carries its Driving Level onto online races, and will match you with races of your level, and racing in online races will also improve your driving level. It’s really quite clever, as it makes the modes of the game seem cohesive. Races I drove in were all but lag free, but I was driving against Australians in the middle of the day. Also, I’ve had a few races online, none which I came first in, but it’s showing up as only 1 win in my driver profile.

Graphically the game is great and the in car view has to be seen to be believed. The motion of the driver, the look of the different car dashboards, to the way the side blurs as you gain momentum forcing you to concentrate on the road ahead is truly fantastic. It’s one of the few games where I want to only race in the in car view! Another great effect is when you crash the screen jumps and distorts, not unlike Burnout (with the smashes in the replay also pay a nod to the burnout franchise).

Conclusion:
Need For Speed: Shift is a welcome entry into the world of track racing and a step back in the right direction for the series. The biggest problem is the game doesn’t do too much to distinguish itself from the other excellent racing games available lately. Everyone already has their favourites – some like V8 Supercars, some like Forza, others like Gran Turismo and NFSS comes at a time when people may be unlikely to change back to the series.

On the other hand, the Need For Speed fan may be put off by the return to fixed maps, traditional car racing and no free roaming. But there is some damn good fun to be had with this game, and whilst I’m aware people only have so much time and budget to play games, racing fans may be doing themselves a disservice if they miss out on this.

Pros
awesome in car camera
incredible amount of racing
great points system

Cons
too much like every other racing game
the drifting is a total failure

83/100

Event, inthemix.com.au, Review, Writing

Lil John and Wu Tang Clan @ Festival Hall

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31/10/09

I must admit it; I’m not too familiar with Wu Tang Clan. Don’t get me wrong, like everybody else I love Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) and I know the odd solo effort from Red & Meth, Ol’ Dirty and RZA, but I’m not the biggest fan of their new stuff. And as for Lil John, I’m convinced he’s an elaborate joke conceived by Dave Chappelle, Andy Kaufman style. But I love heading out to live hiphop gigs because of the energy and vitality hiphop has, and with an opportunity to see nearly all of the original Wu Tang Line up on stage together, I couldn’t miss out.

Rocking up at around 8 o’clock, I was greeted by a rather small crowd being entertained by a DJ playing newer hiphop and R&B. There was some 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes which was cool, and some of those annoying auto-tuned rappers. I simply can’t understand why people like this overused and tacky effect on hiphop, and it appears I’m not the only one as I heard one angry girl exclaim rather loudly “what is this shit!?”

Then this weird looking white guy jumped on stage and started screaming into a microphone. He kind of looked like a hairier version of Sammy Hagar, and he thought he was way more hardcore than he actually was, and introduced Lil John. Now, as I mentioned, I’m not the biggest fan and actually think he’s a bit of a joke, as I can’t understand how anyone can make a career out of using the same lyrics in every song. Sure, I like getting fucked up as the next person, but I don’t make an effort to mention it in every conversation!

But I’ve got to hand it to Lil John, he can certainly move a crowd. He played many of his hits like Let’s Get Crunk, Crazy and Put Yo Hood Up, more than I care to admit I know, and I was surprised that by the end of the set it was almost like listening to dance music, with fast beats and an intense energy coming from Lil John and his DJ. Colour me impressed! Unfortunately crazy white guy also jumped around on stage like an idiot for most of his set, swilling booze out of a bottle and spitting it on everyone, seeming to piss everyone off including Lil John.

After his set the previous DJ stepped up and started playing some old school classics like Check Yo Self, Momma’s Gonna Knock You Out, and Let Me Clear My Throat. The venue had filled up quite substantially by now, and it was getting later and later and Wu Tang still weren’t on, but most people were enjoying themselves singing along to the old school. The DJ dropped some Michael Jackson and even Regulate by Warren G. and Nate Dogg, which had cheers from my mate but had angry girl whinging again.

When Wu Tang did finally take the stage, they were greeted with thousands of people cheering with the W up in the air. Dropping straight into Protect Ya Neck, the place got live as fuck. RZA, GZA, Raekwon, UGod, DJ Mathematics, Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa were all jumping around on stage, and I’ve got to say the energy of seven big MCs is electrifying. I’ve always been impressed by the likes of the Beastie Boys and Jurassic 5 when they all rhyme together, but that’s all about harmony. Wu Tang was all about spitting powerfully into the mic, and they eclipsed the music in some places with the sheer intensity of their rhymes. There was a little bit of feedback at first, but this was quickly corrected.

They dropped hit after hit, like Wu Tang Ain’t Nothing To Fuck With, and Clan In Da Back, as well as the various MCs “solo” stuff, like RZA’s You Can’t Stop Me Now, which had me screaming like a girl because I love it so much. They also did a tribute to Ol Dirty, getting everyone to put their lighters / phones in the air, and dropping I Like It Raw and Baby I Got Your Money. There were quite a few tracks I didn’t know, but I didn’t care either, because they had me jumping around like a loon anyway.

The end of their set was a little weird. They played stuff off their latest album, which I don’t think many people knew, and I felt there was a real drop in energy from the Clan. Unlike other concerts which end with a bang, this one simply petered out. There wasn’t an encore either, although it felt like the Wu wanted more as they just kind of meandered on stage taking in the applause. There was a great sense of disappointment from the crowd when the lights came on, that’s for sure.


I had no expectations going into this concert, and I had a hell of a good time listening to music I don’t go out of my way to normally experience. I was surprised at Lil John, and blown away by Wu Tang. Admittedly I was a little disappointed by the ending – I wanted them to come out and do some more amazing music, but I’d thoroughly recommend even if you have a passing interest in Wu Tang to go see them next time, because they’ aint nothin to fuck wit!

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

People Under The Stairs – Carried Away

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People Under The Stairs deliver their 7th studio album, Carried Away, and the album begins with a sample that tells us pops and pills and academics aren’t enough anymore, and they need the “hard stuff”, dropping into Step Off, a head nodding jam which is fairly typical of PUTS. The rhyme “Last album were funny but this ain’t no joke, nah who am I kidding we’re still having fun” pretty much sums up the whole album.

Whilst Check The Vibe, Hit The Top and Listen are all pretty standard PUTS fare; laid back and breezy, 80 Blocks From Silverlake and Down in LA celebrate life in Los Angeles. It’s all about the parties, the BBQs, the bitches and the brews. Come On Let’s Get High features a sweet soul sample singing the title, and ends up with Double K telling all the rappers who claim they smoke don’t smoke like he – braggadocio at its finest. The duo bring their raps to the forefront on the classic oldschool sound of Beer, stripping it down to the bare minimum, not only with production but lyrical content too, punctuating the notion this guys really love their beer.

There are the funny tracks, like Creepshow about the guys stalking women, and Teeth about being abused in the dentist chair. My favourite is Letter From The Old School, with the guys rapping like Melly Mel, responding to a letter from Double K, which ends up with the PUTS guys threatening to put on a Luther (Vandross) fest.

There’s a couple more serious tracks here too. My Boy D tells the story of a kid who couldn’t get into college, so deals drugs – a common story “especially if you listen to some Ice T songs”. The title track will carry you away, with its dreamy beats and acoustic guitar, recalling the 90s hiphop sounds.

But the standout track has to be Trippin’ at The Disco. It’s up there with Tuxedo Rap as one of their greatest. With its sing along chorus and floor stomping party jam featuring 70s high hats and bass guitar, it sounds like something which could be dropped by Krafty Kuts at 2am in the morning to get the crowd live.

I think Carried Away is their best since OST. In fact, it’s one of the best hiphop albums I’ve heard all year. The reason I like it so much is because it’s oldschool in the truest sense of the world. Thes One and Double K deliver dope raps over awesome crate dug funky beats, interspersed with funny skits and wicked samples. It’s a happy, upbeat, party vibe album that’s sure to be dropped at BBQs everywhere this summer.

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

FIFA 10

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Developers and Publishers get a great deal of flack over sports games. The general sentiment is that they just give a slight makeover to the graphics of the game, put in new team line ups, make minor tweaks, and re-package the last instalment which they sell for full price to a gullible public. Whilst this has been true in the past, last year EA did something astonishing with FIFA 09, providing a whole new way of playing the beautiful game, making giant leaps in replicating the sport of soccer in video games, and blew away the competition. In fact, I’m going to go as far to say FIFA 09 was so good that would be absolutely fine if EA rested on their laurels and just did a roster update.

However, EA Canada has shown the EA of the past is radically different to the EA of now, and worked hard to make FIFA 10 the best soccer game ever. Admittedly the changes are subtle to the uninitiated, but the changes do make it a whole new ball game.

One of the most important changes is you are now have completely free movement of players with the control stick. No longer are your players limited to the 8 axis of the stick; you can curve your runs onto the ball when up forward, you can zig zag run when you have the ball, you can put a nicer curve when kicking and passing, you can pass to people more accurately, and most importantly, you can make runs down the touch line and make adjustments without the ball going out of play. The change doesn’t sound like much on paper, but it makes the game so much better. Going back to FIFA 09 feels like stepping into the dark ages of Microprose International Soccer.

The player AI has been improved as well. Everyone is in constant motion, and plays flow beautifully from one moment to the next. If you make a pass, players will now step over the ball if another player is in a better position to advance the ball or score a goal. Players will rarely be caught off side, and if they are it’s because the AI pulls the opposing team up-field. Defenders will step into intercept crossed balls. Opposition players are marked correctly, and your player will return into position if you pull them to help attack. Goalie AI has improvements too. In FIFA 09 I found the keepers dives impossible to beat, but now the keeper moves a little more out of his box and liable to make more mistakes, making it feel much more of an authentic game.

The ball physics have also been refined for the better. Kickers can curve and spin the ball with much more precision, and the ball moves far more naturally than any previous soccer game. I’ve scored a Beckham style corker of a goal I never was able to do in FIFA 09 because of the way the ball floated in the air.

All of this combines to bring you one of the best simulations of the soccer ever seen. In fact, the game is so stunningly accurate to ‘real life’ that my flatmate mistook it for me watching a real match. It’s not just the graphics, which are superb as usual, it’s everything – the way the teams work the ball, the way individual players look and behave, down to the commentary and the crowd noise. Yes, even the commentary sounds authentic, with Andy and Martin sounding like they’re actually at your match. Sometimes the game will slip up and get names wrong or misinterpret a cross, but there is a much bigger range of comments and banter, and I’ve only heard a few lines repeated.

Off the field there have been changes too. The addition of Virtual Pro allows you to build up a player, who can look like you, and be played across multiple game modes – no more waiting 4 seasons to get your star out of Be A Pro and into Manager Mode. You’ll even build up your players’ stats in the Arena mode. The menus have remained largely the same, which is a little disappointing because they’re still awkward to navigate, but with so many options it’s hard to think of a better way of managing them.

There’s a set play editor, which I’ve fiddled with but didn’t really get the best use out of. Accessed through Arena mode, which itself is more robust this year with options available from a couple of button presses and quicker to load, you can set up plays from corners and free kicks. It’s quite complicated and fiddly, you have to select individual players and then record where they go with no kind of copy and paste function, but hardcore coaches will have a grand old time with it.

I have to make mention of the EA Game Face here. Like previously, you could put your ugly mug on your pro player. Last year, you used the Xbox Live Camera in game. This year you use the EA Game Face web application. Annoyingly, this application went down for a few days at launch, and unfortunately only works for windows PCs. If you don’t have a decent front on image, you’ll need a camera or webcam that works on PC to generate it, although you can use any picture on your hard drive to generate the image. Most annoyingly, it takes twice as long as the in-game method and ties up your PC for that entire time. Whilst I appreciate being able to use any image, they should have stuck with the in-game method for simplicity.

Be A Pro is slightly different this year. It’s still a season with points rewarded for how you play to the position you’ve selected, with bonus points awarded for achieving the coach’s objectives. However, you gain points as you play and they’re assigned automatically. Play defensive, become a more defence based player, with better stats in running and tackling. I am not so fond of this as I feel it’s taken something away from the player – sure it’s good that it builds up based on the way you play, but if you wanted to become a better crosser, you’re going to have to cross the ball more often, which reduces your shot count, for example. I preferred building up my players the way I wanted, RPG style.

Manager Mode has had some changes which make it feel more realistic, and as always, these are very welcome. Transfers are much more realistic – there’s no more 90 ranked players being traded to 2 star teams. You have the option of an assistant coach who will swap fatigued players around, and works well for the most part. However, there are still issues with it, such as playing players out of position reducing their effectiveness more than it should, some teams missing players they should have, but these are minor gripes that will only bother the hardcore players. For me, it worked great.

Live Play mode sounds interesting. For some MS Points it allows you to follow your favourite team and replay games that have just been played throughout the season based on their current form. Don’t like the fact Chelsea beat Aston Villa? Play it again and see if you can win. Although I love soccer, I can’t see myself getting into this mode – it took long enough to get through the other modes!

Online is superb as always. The Be A Pro matches can be limited to 5 v 5, so you don’t have to wait for 10 players and fight over position… although everyone still wants to be a forward. It’s still great as an attacking midfielder though because I’ve got man of the match a couple of times and didn’t even have to score. Like last year; play your position and get rewarded. Returning is the friends’ league which allows you to play with friends, ranked matches to show your skills to the world, and the head to head matches, and all of it is relatively lag free. There are still people who rage quit in ranked matches, but I think we’ll see that until the end of time.

Conclusion
I had a real hard time reviewing this game – I simply couldn’t put it down. I’ve got other games to review, and they’re running late because of FIFA 10. It’s a beautiful game to play, full of awesomely exciting moments. It’s a game which needs to be played to realise the difference between this and last year’s game, because screenshots and even videos don’t do it justice, but once you get the controller in your hand and you’re playing, you’ll never want to go back to a previous version.

Yes, there are flaws here, but depending on your level of involvement with soccer games, I’m not sure if they’ll really bother you. Sure, the menus are annoying. Yes, Game Face should be part of the game. But I found them to be rather minor. And of course, if you want a true to life manager sim you’re going to find issues, but why are you not playing Championship Manager? However, if you want to play soccer, want to cross, pass tackle, slide and score against the computer or against a real life person, then you’re not going to get better than FIFA 10.

Pros:
360 degrees control changes the way you play game
Every time you play it’s exciting and fun.
Incredible sense of realism from all aspects of the game – visuals, controls, AI and sound.
Virtual Be A Pro allows you to play and improve your Pro in different modes concurrently
Great amount of options and game modes creating a great depth to the game
Loads quicker than ever to get you in the game

Cons:
Manager Mode still not quite up to a standard people are hoping for
Some may be annoyed that you can’t adjust stats for players as you want to.
Menus are still fiddly
Should be an option to use the Live Camera to import your face as well as Game Face.

90/100

inthemix.com.au, Review, Writing

DJ Woody vs Body Snatchers – Passenger Mix Tape

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I had a whole different picture of who the Body Snatchers were before getting this release. For some reason I thought they were some lame arse corporate created boy band. So seeing them on a Passenger mix with the likes of Aquasky and Baobinga & ID, mixed by one of the UK’s best scratch DJs, DJ Woody, had me really intrigued. Imagine my surprise and delight when instead of a bunch of boys of questionable sexuality harmonising about love, I get a gruff UK hiphop rapping about being tough and how great women with big asses are.

Much of this album is Woody dropping Body Snatchers acapellas over Body Snatchers beats, with some freestyle raps dropped here and there, and scratching thrown in for good measure. According to the tracklisting at any rate, many of the Body Snatchers tunes have been re-worked with different vocals and I suspect given phatter baselines. Most of the mixes are great and work really well together but then again, when you mash up an acapella and instrumental from the same group, it’s never quite as interesting as mashing up two completely separate styles. Regardless, the mix slams the bass hard, and the various MCs deliver sound rhymes most of the time.

There are a few rhymes here and there which might leave you scratching you head. “I used to date a girl and her name was Carla / now I’ve got a Brazilian and her name is Flavia” then something muttered about Shakira… doesn’t sound that good on paper and is even worse in verse. However, the rapping over the awesome Monster Cash builds up with the music and is a piece of brilliance which will get your head nodding where ever you’re listening to it.

One of my favourite elements of this mix is its sense of fun. A lot of people seem to be so serious in their mixes, yet this one has silly rhymes and shoutouts all the way through it. It has an old school sensibility, with many guests popping up, including BluRum13, Goldmouf, Sirplus, Ragga Twins, and the aforementioned Aquasky and Baobinga & ID. Admittedly you might not know half of these names, but a good mix CD should make you want more from the artists involved, and this album certainly has done that for me.

inthemix.com.au, Music, Review, Writing

The Herbaliser – Sessions 2

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The Herbaliser is the amazingly talented duo of DJs, Jake Wherry and Oli Teeba, able to construct tunes in such a ways as to make people think they’re an entire band. And nearly ten years ago, they decided to actually get together and perform as an entire band, releasing the fantastic Sessions One on Ninja Tune. That album took tunes off their three albums and morphed them into pure funk.

Sessions 2, out on K!7 this time around, is equally as funky, this time taking their entire back catalogue and giving it a live band makeover. Songs which had vocals have been stripped, but now instead we get funky ass instrumentation that gets your head nodding and your feet tapping. Mr Chombie Has The Flaw was my favourite on Blow Your Headphones, and it’s reworked here magnificently. Amores Bongos, which is taken off their latest, invokes memories of a 70s cop show that never existed.

And, maybe a nod to the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing, there is quite a number of science fiction inspired titles on here, including Moon Sequence, Theme from Control Central, and Stranded On Earth. Each of these great tunes are dramatic, moody, and evocative of the hope and dreams of space cadets everywhere.

The only negative about the album is that if you were looking for something out of the ordinary for the normally extraordinary Herbaliser, you won’t find it here. It’s a Herbaliser live album, and not that much different to the one released in 2000. But then again, why mess with a great formula. Stick it on and blow your headphones!

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Fight Night Round 4

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It’s no secret that EA’s Fight Night revolutionised boxing games. Moving the control scheme away from the buttons to the control sticks was a genius move, and has allowed EA to pretty much dominate the genre since first coming out with it. However, with Fight Night Round 4, it’s apparent the franchise needs something special to continue being held in such high regard. It’s not that Fight Night Round 4 is bad in any way, it just lacks the punch (pardon the pun) of the previous entries.

All the good stuff of Fight Night Round 3 is here – the awesome graphics, improved with much more realistic levels of sweat, and fantastic lighting of rings and boxers; the great sound giving the visceral realism the game is renowned for a bigger impact; and the robust fighter creator which creates eerily similar facsimiles of those with XboxLive Cameras.

For the actual in-ring gameplay, the punching system has been revamped with a new physics engine, and each punch landed feels more solid and powerful than previous titles. Some punches have changed – the haymaker is now mapped to a button press and a hook movement with the joystick, which means players aren’t accidentally throwing them at opponents so much. Likewise, body punches are no longer modified by a button, but instead mapped to the normal punch controls, promoting their importance and use against opponents. Parrying has become a solid block, and there isn’t a momentary opening from blocking – you’ve literally have to fight for openings. Now more so than ever, you need to time your punches when in the ring, get into a rhythm of punching, dodging and counterpunching.

Counterpunching is the key, and the camera will alter slightly and a sound will play, indicating if you can land a punch, it will be more powerful than a normal punch. Landing the punch is often harder than expected, because the opponent will know as well, and can get a good block up in time. This of course can work against you, as an opponent can counter a counter, so you’ve got to be forceful yet tactical when you fight.

Career mode, called Legacy, is where you’ll spend the most of you time. You can choose a boxer or build your own, and build up your stats through fights and training, winning bouts and series and belts until you’re the Champion. Whilst it’s a pretty solid game mode, there are some issues with it. Firstly is its length. I found it simply too long to maintain my interest. I like games to progress quickly, so found the way you win round after round against the early nobodies, and then suddenly hit a brick wall of toughness that is impassable seemingly no matter what you try to do. The amount of time I’ve been stuck at 30, and knocked out with seemingly weak punches and cheap shots is annoying at best.

I realise the trick is to fight lower ranked boxers to build up stats, but I’m far too impatient for that, and I think many other gamers are too. It just feels unnecessary, like a way to prolong the career mode rather than to actually give more substance to it. To make matters worse, the minigames which improve your stats are often overly difficult. Each different type of game gives you a range of stats, but none give you a change to raise all your stats. To get the full range of stats, you need to do very well in the minigame, and some of them feel impossible to achieve more than a mediocre score. Skipping gives you half the bonus, but when it’s only +5 or +6 a stat per mini game, your stats are going to take way too long to raise in such a manner.

So you might choose the bag to rise your heart and chin stats one time, and even though you string moving to 10 zones together in a row, still come out with a grade of “bum”, which gives you half points. And as you can only train once between fights, and fights need at least a month of recovery, you simply fly through the years and it feels like you’re not developing quickly enough. I realise I may be judging this too harshly, but to me games are all about achieving something. If I’m punching above my weight, I should be rewarded, not punished with cheap shots and hard minigames.

There’s also a fight mode, where you can play against the computer with your favourite real life boxers, or two player which is still as much fun as ever. The hits and bruises are as hardcore as ever, and if you have a bunch of mates around watching, you’ll get the same oohs and ahhs as if you’re watching a real boxing match on TV. It’s not quite the party game Rockband is, although it in nearly just as fun playing as it is watching. Online the game is as good as its predecessor, with little lag. Boxing games seem to attract a hardcore crowd online, so prepare for some smacktalk.

Sound was mentioned briefly before, and it’s still great, with impact sounds sounding heavy and forceful. Additionally, there has been some great work integrating the soundtrack into the whole game.Whilst being full of the usual EA tracks, spanning multiple genres such as hiphop, funk, and rock, with some being good and others not so good, during loading screens the tune that was playing in the menu is cut back and looped, and later continues with a different effects process depending on if you’re in a ring, a stadium, or the gym. It’s a subtle but clever way of making you feel as part of the game or story, and not just jumping from menu to menu.

Conclusion:
Fight Night Round 4 is a solid game, different enough from its predecessor to warrant a play through, but I’m not completely convinced there’s enough of a change to make someone who loves Fight Night Round 3 to change. The changes appear more subtle, and whilst technically it’s a better game, I didn’t get as much fun out of it this as I did Fight Night 3.

Pros:
Great boxing action, refined for a more tactical style of game
Great to play two player
Fantastic visuals.
Awesome use of sound

Cons:
Minigames too difficult
Feels like they’ve made things deliberately too hard to prolong gameplay in Legacy mode.

80/100