Weekend Gaming In Edinburgh

If you happen to be passing Festival Square then don’t miss out on the various games you can try out there. Sony are showing off their latest PS3 additions: 3D gaming and the Playstation Move. If you have played anything on the Nintendo Wii you will be familiar with Sony’s Move controller as they work somewhat similarly. Sadly the 3D didn’t wow me as much as I had hoped. Whether this is to do with already wearing glasses before putting on the 3D specs I am not sure. However I found it about as successful as the 3D movies that are out (something else that has yet to impress me) it does have the added bonus of being able to see the screen fine without wearing the glasses.

Nintendo’s setup has more of an arcade feel and is more about showing off games than technology. Sadly there is no sign of the 3DS or some of the latest announced games, however you can get your hands on Metroid: Other M a week before it is released alongside some of their latest and greatest games: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sin and Punishment and Dragon Quest IX among several others.

So, whether you’re interested in gameplay or the latest technology, there is something to see. Both companies are showing off their wares all weekend, so take a look!

Goodbye Mr. Chips

When I was a kid I used to love going to massive game shops like Future Zone and Electronics Boutique, even Game. They filled me with awe, all these different games for various systems from the Atari ST to the Philips CDi and many, many more than we see today. However these wondrous places of game retail were mainly found in cities far away from where I lived so it was the smaller shops I used to spend most of my time in, gazing at the backs of boxes, wondering what it was like to play them. The staff were always friendly and knowledgeable but the shops themselves seemed so much less inspiring than the giants found in the shopping malls.

This was set to change though and as gaming became more mainstream the companies like Electronics Boutique grew their empires, destroying the small independent stores in a similar way that has been happening with supermarkets and coffee shops. However food and drink are far more important than gaming, so this went fairly unnoticed. As these retail chains started growing the smaller shops simply couldn’t compete and as stores like Game grew their magic started to wear off. The people who worked there tended to be less interested in the wares they were selling you and as the shops got bigger the choice got smaller. Support was only seen for the latest and greatest consoles with a small section for a console or two that still had people buying enough games for it to be profitable.

With this change I began to see the independent game stores for the amazing things they were. People worked there for their love of it and were interested in what they were selling. If a game didn’t work on your computer they would do their best to get it up and running, creating customised boot discs for PCs, explaining what advantages a hard drive or CD ROM would bring you and show you how you could get the most out of the machine you had rather than try to sell you something brand new.

But these shops began to die off and they have become a rarer and rarer sight over the years. However there was one name that you began to see around a country surrounded by Game and Gamestation logos and that was Chips.

Chips has managed to keep the independent store vibe whilst becoming a franchise within itself. There used to be a Chips store near where I lived and it is where my Dad bought perhaps my favourite computer; an Amiga 500+ and I was inspired every time I went there with the incredible things the staff were able to make this machine do and the demos that would be running on the computers they had set up. As this may suggest to you, Chips has managed to survive a very long time. The first store opened in the mid 80s and another 11 followed along with 14 franchise shops and a online store. I first noticed the Edinburgh branch of Chips whilst on the bus to work and from the moment I walked in it became my favourite game shop in the city. The staff were awesome, the prices were competitive and games could be found for systems from the Xbox 360 to the Sega Master System. However all good things come to an end. Several weeks ago it was reported that Chipsworld was going into liquidation and the Edinburgh store, among many of the others would be closed.

So, now Edinburgh’s best game store lies dormant and it saddens me. As much as I still like some of the bigger retail chains they really do lack the heart and charm of shops like Chips. I hope the people (in fact I believe it was person, but i don’t want to leave anybody out) who worked there and at all the other branches across the country find fantastic new jobs that they love, because they deserve it. They have kept the notion of an independent game store alive, never once trying to shove junk onto customers or sell shoddy goods, never patronising, always happy to answer questions and far more knowledgeable than many of the staff I’ve encountered at other outlets.

When I started writing for the Reporter one of the things I was hoping to do was an article about this store. This was not the story I wanted to write.

Goodbye Mr. Chips, you will be missed.

Of Otaku and Nintendo

Less than a week after sending the Wii back to Nintendo it has been returned, with no charge required! Sadly I wasn’t able to plug it in straight away as I had taken my video cable to work as the one for the Wii there had broken.

Nonetheless I eagerly opened the parcel to find what I initially thought was a replacement console as the hinge for the cover to the controller ports was different (read: damaged), but I noticed there was a tell-tale mark on the system that identified it as my own. I was a little saddened by the cover that would fall open now, but hey, hopefully this meant there was the possibility of some (all?) of my save games being intact. Something was troubling me though, and that was the speed of return. All that was enclosed was the letter I sent accompanying the console that explained how to repeat the fault if the console booted up, this had no indication that it had been acknowledged. I wondered if any repair work had actually been done, especially as I hadn’t been contacted for payment details.

As I wouldn’t be able to get my video cable back until the next day, this continued to bother me, so I decided to phone up Nintendo and see if they had any more information. The guy who answered my call assured me that all repairs will have been done unless I had specifically stated that I didn’t want them to. This allayed my concern a little, but I was still not convinced, so I did what any other impatient geek would have done; I went and picked up a replacement cable!

Upon my return I plugged the Wii back in, booted it up and held my breath. It lived! However I had seen this reawakening before, hence why I included a note with how to reproduce the error. So, my next mission was to do just that. I booted up one of the games that causes the console to not want to reboot (Wii Fit Plus), hit the ‘return to menu’ option and…

It still crashed.

Disappointed that my concerns had not been misplaced I once again called Nintendo’s helpline. This time I was told that no repair had been needed to my console (not sure why this wasn’t said during my previous conversation) and what I should do is restore my system from the option screen, after all “that’s probably all they would have done anyway” (again, why this hadn’t been mentioned in my very first phone call I do not know).

Hanging up, I went to follow the guidance I had been given only to be thwarted at the first hurdle. A message popped up stating it was recommended that I close my Wii Shop Channel Account. So, loading up said channel I went to do just that, however the documentation implied that I would lose all the games I had purchased in doing this. Not wanting to lose all those titles, I decided against this course of action and threw in the towel. Perhaps Nintendo of Europe feel that only otaku would want a console that works, access to all their saves AND still be able to play games that have been purchased online.

For now, I quit. When I have time I’ll contact Nintendo once more and find out how best to proceed, but at the moment I don’t have time. At least the Wii has returned to life, until my girlfriend or I want to play Wii Fit or Raving Rabbids that is.

Nintendo, I’m disappointed. But credit where it’s due, there is no sign of the Xbox 360 at work that got sent off for repair at the same time, so at least the return was speedier, and it didn’t cost me anything.

UPDATE: 4 days after this the Xbox was returned, repaired at no cost and a free months pass to Xbox Live. I didn’t think Microsoft had the ability to better any company, especially when it comes to customer support, but I have been proven wrong.

Edinburgh Interactive Festival

The Edinburgh International Film Festival is already into its second week and that can only mean one thing: festival season will soon be upon us! With this in mind let’s take a sneak peek at what’s in store for gamers at the 8th annual Edinburgh Interactive Festival.

Nintendo have already announced their involvement for the 5th consecutive year and intend to be showing off the likes of Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. However, this was decided pre E3 so who knows what else might be on show.

Michael Acton Smith from Mind Candy will be delivering what appears to be a ‘post mortem’ presentation, talking about what his company leant from creating their social online kids game Moshi Monsters; a mixture of Tamagotchi, Brain Training and Facebook.

This year the Interactive Festival will partner with the Television Festival bringing key figures from both mediums together for the first time. Hopefully this will bring out some interesting discussion, with the popularity of applications such as iPlayer and technologies like 3D beginning to hit both industries it should be a good time to bring these mediums into the same room.

Many other events are set to take place but have yet to be announced, but keynotes, demos and screenings are on the cards. The Edinburgh Interactive Festival will take place at The Filmhouse on the 26th and 27th of August, check back with us for all the announcements as they come in.

Nintendo’s Return To The ‘Hardcore’

Ever since the launch of the Wii, commentators have been overly negative towards the system and the company. Critics felt that the simplification of controls and hardware that was rooted in the previous generation showed that Nintendo didn’t have what it takes to be cutting edge, modern and move gaming in general and graphics in particular to the next plateau. This is an opinion that although I understand, feel is lazy and blinkered. But it is something Nintendo have been unable to shake and this has had a detrimental effect in the franchises that have been brought to the system.

This years Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3 is in full swing and Nintendo have just had their press conference, showing off their latest system; the 3DS and a slew of games. Some of the titles shown, may be seen as ‘casual’ if such a hideous term must be used, but many of the games announced show that Nintendo can still pull out all the stops when it comes to that equally hideous term, ‘hardcore’.

Not only are there home grown titles from the company itself, such as Donkey Kong Country Returns, franchises from other developers like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil and Golden Eye among many others are making a return to Nintendo consoles. Nintendo themselves are adding to the list with a brand new Animal Crossing, a 3D remake of StarFox 64, a portable Paper Mario game and the long rumoured Kid Icarus. Even I must admit that it has been a while since there has been such a varied and impressive lineup from Ninty and as the hours roll on since the announcements began things just seem to look increasingly better, with trailers online for games like The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and pictures hidden away of Super Street Fighter IV for the 3DS it looks like Nintendo will be calling home some fans that may have lost faith or strayed from the nest.

And I for one could not be happier.

This weekend only

Get to Gamestation for some fun….

Just a quick post to say that if you’re umm-ing and ahh-ing over Super Mario Galaxy 2 and want to try it out before handing over your hard earned cash, then pop into Gamestation on Princes Street this weekend.

Upstairs Nintendo have a demo station for you to try your hand at Mario’s latest adventure. That being said, if you’re tying to save up for a holiday and feel you may not be able to resist the temptation, perhaps it’s not the best place for you to be. But for everyone else, go try your hand at the game that looks to be, if such a thing is possible, even better than the first.

iPad

I’m typing this on a shiny, new iPad and despite what you might think or have heard to the contrary, it is a rather pleasing experience.

It certainly beats hauling about my rapidly disintegrating laptop and might even allow me to send e-mail unlike that old work horse. However even that will probably be best done at one of Edinburgh’s free WiFi hotspots due to my current appalling internet speed at home (I love paying for broadband and receiving poorer speeds than I did on dial-up during the 90′s), but I digress.

It seems fitting to make a review of the iPad the first thing I type on its screen, so let’s do just that.

One sentence review: it’s a big iPod Touch. And I mean that in the best possible way. If you have used the Touch or an iPhone, then you’re going to be right at home with this little machine. The user interface is similar, but not identical allowing for added features such as landscape and portrait orientation, even on the home screen, something I must confess to yearning for ever since picking up the first iPhone. Icons have more room to breath thanks to the larger display and make it far less likely to ‘fat finger’ the wrong app than on a handset. Some commentators have criticised the amount of bezel surrounding the iPad (the border around the screen) but I for one welcome it. Being a person who had to move the phone icon on my iPhone because my thumb kept hitting it, I appreciate the room this affords me in resting my hands whilst typing this very article.

Something I’ve been very impressed with, especially after some initial comments is how well apps that aren’t specifically optimised for the iPad perform. There are some that don’t translate as well as others, but most that I’ve tried out have worked great. Being a games blog though, let’s stick with the game side of this.

If there is one genre that could really make a comeback on the iPad, it is that guilty pleasure of mine that is the interactive movie. Games such as Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace look beautiful on the larger screen, and the touch controls feel better than even an old arcade stick. It even makes the largest control scheme make much more sense than it did on the smaller iDevices, feeling like a game of Simon especially in easy mode; hitting the right button as it lights up. Other laserdisc classics such as Cobra Command feel just as at home on the iPad, again the controls feeling much more responsive. However, some titles that are more reliant on tilt controls don’t translate as successfully. When I loaded up the Atari classic, Adventure it was barely playable with the square you control reacting way too sensitively to be playable.

Games that rely on pixel art look particularly nice when doubled up to be full screen on the iPad. Vay, one of the first RPGs released in the app store looks beautiful. Its pixel art looking very sharp. I would also argue that Flashback plays far better than the iPad optimised version of Prince of Persia.

Due to the aforementioned internet service provider at home, I haven’t had a chance to download many iPad exclusive games, but expect some individual reviews coming in the not too distant future (ISP depending).

It has been a source of speculation since the announcement of the iPad, however I truly believe it is a valid gaming platform. There are already some great looking and playing titles out there, and some of them are playable on the smaller devices too. Does it make the iPod Touch et al. irrelevant? Not in the least. Going back to my iPhone after using the iPad makes me look at my 3G in a way I haven’t since I first laid eyes on the original iPhone. The fact that so much can be done on such a small screen is astounding to me once more and with the iPhone 4 on the horizon, things are looking very bright for Apple’s touch device market. However for anyone that found these smaller machines a little cluttered or too small to use easily, the iPad is certainly worth your consideration.

Update #1

Four days after phoning Nintendo a letter arrived detailing the funeral of the recently deceased Wii. Along with the address label to have it posted off to was a glossy sheet that explained in near Blue Peter style how to box up and send off the faulty console.

The instructions are easy to follow but several additional items are required. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, have the following standing by:

Faulty console

Cling film

The retail box (or suitable size box or jiffy bag)

Newspaper or bubble wrap

A photocopy of your receipt (if still in warranty)

Address details

Tape

This is a slight variation on other companies practices when it comes to returning faulty equipment. Microsoft for example will e-mail you a shipping label in order to speed up the process (once you find the right web site, sign up for an account, create a unique gamertag and make sure they are able to understand your address). It may take up to 24 hours but this is a little faster than the Nintendo approach. Both however leave you with the necessity to find a way to box up the package. The method I tend to prefer is that which Apple opt for: sending you a box to pack the faulty item in then you phone the courier and they pick it up. This has you waiting a similar amount of time as Nintendo, however you don’t need to go to the trouble of finding a box that fits and packing to keep it safe in transport.

So to recap, Nintendo are easy to talk to but take a while to get you an address to send your faulty console to. Although postage is free you may have to fork out for the right stuff to pack it away in.

I’m also going to include a little note explaining how the error occurs, incase the Wii miraculously returns to life on its journey.

Tomorrow I’ll take it to the post office and eagerly await its recovery or replacement.

At least all this gives me a little while to save up for Monster Hunter Tri and Sin & Punishment.

Street Fighter and Mega Man

Unlike both feature length live action realisations of the Street Fighter series, this short sticks to the heart of the games: fighting, with moves choreographed to emulate the style of the in-game characters.

Street Fighter: Legacy is a 3 minute short film directed by Owen Trevor, whose work can usually be seen on episodes of Top Gear. Much care and attention has been given to this film, with great cinematography and well performed fighting. The only down side to this whole production is its length, with a run time that’s shorter than a single episode of the now classic Street Fighter: The Later Years.

For those of you looking for something with more substance to it then I highly recommend checking out the 90 minute MegaMan: The Movie. It might not have the production value of Legacy, but it makes up for it in plot, something that the aforementioned short barely hints at.

Although the acting may not be stellar and the occasional special effect missing the mark, for an action movie shot on location in New York City for what one must imagine was a very limited budget it wears its heart on its sleeve as you can tell the love that was poured into this project. The care and attention in the costume design does not shy away from its 8 Bit origins and if you were able to cope with the visual flair of a television show like Power Rangers then this is of similar quality.

For the record I am not well versed in MegaMan, so those that have grown up with the character may have differing opinions, but I felt the script was well written and that the characters were realised affectionately.

Keeping to the topic of Capcom fans I just wanted to share a bit of late but no less awesome news that you rarely hear from mainstream news outlets. Tragedy recently befell the family of well known Street Fighter tournament player, Chris Hu. His family, along with 50 others, sadly lost their New York home to a fire where they lost all their possessions and savings. However the tournament community over at SRK came to their aid, spending a week putting in donations to a fund to help Chris and his family. The community managed to raise an astounding $20,894 in a week.

Stories such as these rarely make headlines, but I think that it is important to note how compassionate and creative the gaming community can be.

An Obituary and a Warning

The post I planned on bringing you has been put on hold due to a personal tragedy. Yesterday evening, upon return from work, my Nintendo Wii was pronounced dead.

When I started to formulate this piece it was intended to be a warning about backing up your saved games, something I had neglected to do as this is the first console I’ve ever had die on me. This dawned upon me while chatting to a nice guy on Nintendo’s helpline and my heart immediately sank. All those hours I’d put into various games, all were lost like tears in the rain (to paraphrase Blade Runner). On the plus side, if such a tragedy should ever befall you at least any games you might have bought from the Nintendo Shop Channel can be re-downloaded, even if your Wii has to be replaced.

After my conversation with technical support (it looks like it will be repaired for a nominal fee, far fairer than I was expecting) I sat down to contemplate the loss and this post. With little hope I once again powered on the Wii, and to my shock it booted up – something that it had refused to do since this morning. Now was my chance! I flicked through the menus and went to copy all my save games onto my SD card before sitting down to write about this turn of fortune. However another twist was yet to come.

It turns out that some games don’t let you copy the save data to SD card, and my elation once again turned to despair. As I sit here typing this, I find myself distracted with the thought of how I’m going to break it to my girlfriend when she returns home that our combined 60 hours spent on Animal Crossing are irrecoverable. The 21 hours spent completing Endless Ocean are almost worse than the 25 hours of Raving Rabbid madness we have lost due to the nature of the game. My personal frustration is the thought of having to unlock all the additional characters and special features of Tatsunoko VS Capcom. As easy as it will be for me to play it for another 35 hours, the idea of getting back to the stage I am now doesn’t fill me with the greatest of joys.

Out of the 139 save game files I have on the Wii 42 of them cannot be backed up and a dozen or so others warn that not all the information will necessarily be retained.

After this last gasp, the Wii has returned to its eternal slumber and left me with mixed feelings. The most positive thing is Nintendo’s tech support, they were friendly, helpful and able to answer all questions asked. The message to take from this is to back up all the saves that you can, but beware those that you can’t and remember that all the time you spend on them might need to be repeated in the future. But what has annoyed me more than the console itself dying is that even if I had the foresight to backup those files earlier on, for some games such a task is impossible.

I shall keep you posted with updates on the situation, so hopefully this can at least benefit the rest of you.

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