Movies Games and Videos

Recently I thought I'd try out the Video Marketplace thingy that MS have finally released in the UK. My main reason for it was that I have a high def TV, but it's only 32" (girlfriend acceptance factor dictated tht I couldn't get anything much bigger), and I was curious to see if an HD movie format would actually look noticably better than the upscaling DVD player I have at the moment.

The marketplace itself is quite nicely laid out (certainly a lot better than the Arcade), allowing you to search by genre, popularity, or year of release, and offering up "if you liked X you might want to try Y" links. Once you've downloaded a movie it's very clear how long you have to watch it, so you're in no danger of something accidentally timing out on you.

I probably won't use it very often though, for two main reasons:

First off is the price. It seems high to me, especially for the HD stuff. Currently I rent using Blockbuster's online service - as many movies as I can watch (3 at a time) for £15 a month. And that includes Blu Ray and HD DVD.

I would have thought the HD movies would cost the same, or possibly even been cheaper, than SD, to tempt people into using it more - especially if MS really are trying to kill the HD format war so they can step in with downloads. The standard def version of "300" costs around £2.90 - a better option for most people would be to buy the DVD for only £3.99 and watch as many times as they liked (or sell it on if they didn't like it).

The second downside is the poor selection of titles. At the time of writing there are still only around 40 titles, about three months after the service launched. Everything on it seems quite old, and the recent titles (recent in that they're only a few months after DVD release) have even more hiked up prices.

I can understand the need for a back catalogue to be presented, but surely to provide a useful movie rental service you need to ensure each week's new releases are added promptly? How many people do MS think are sat at home thinking "oh if only there was a way that I could watch Wild Wild West and Executive Descision, yet those two titles are simply impossible to rent or buy"?

Burnout Paradise: An Apology

The full game is indeed a lot better than the demo. So, to any Criterion bods reading: I'm sorry I said you'd cocked it right up.

The lack of a teleport option is still a big pain in the arse though. I've lost count of the number of times I've wanted to warp to a junction, or even just a scrap yard. And for a game that couldn't have a "retry" option because it would add loading screens, it seems to have a lot of loading screens.

But in general it's a good fun blast, enjoyable for the same reasons that Crackdown is - messing about in the city is fun, even if the core content is average at best.

Showtime is also quite nice, though not as rewarding as a Crash junction, since the nature of it (that allows you to continue for as long as you can) requires that it cleans up your destruction as you go, robbing it of that "holy shit, that is a big pile of wrecked cars" sensation. But since Alex Ward hasn't yet come around my house and snapped my Burnout Revenge disc in half, I still have a way of getting my Crash fix.

The Blub, more like

What is it about people called Ward?

I "got it", I just didn't think that the core concept - stylishly killing people for points - was fully carried through by the gameplay. Certainly not in the demo, and after a quick look at the website it seems the full game offers little new.

You can either shoot someone, or shoot them in the head. It didn't have any other type of skill shot as far as I could tell.

Killing enemies felt dull. No over the top death animations, or excited text telling you how good you are.

Movement felt slow and rubbish. No diving, flipping, or cartwheeling while you kill targets to increase your bonus.

The weapons felt bland. A dozen variations of 'rifle' and 'shotgun'. Where's the harpoon gun for pinning enemies together for bonus points? The molotov that sets targets alight (who then set other targets alight as they run around screaming, earning you a multiplier)? The bonus for playing an entire level using just the aluminium baseball bat?

Basically, it's worse at what it does than Max Payne, or Total Overdose, or Stranglehold or Quake 3. It has no flair, no soul, and is a completely missed opportunity.

Thought for the day

What does the "HD" stand for if you're playing Rez HD on a 480p telly?

What's next?

From the Eurogamer comments thread on the news that Call of Duty 4 sold very well.

COD4 isn't revolutionary in any way. And I just hate franchises that release new installments every year. COD is turning into something like FIFA. What's next, COD8, COD11...?

I would imagine CoD 5 is next. Just a wild stab in the dark, like.

Christmas games roundup

My short(ish) views on what I was playing just before Christmas:

Call of Duty 4: Brilliantly exciting single player with some very inventive set pieces and levels. Makes you wonder how all war games aren't this exciting. I thought the Multi-player would grab me, but it didn't in the end, and I've kind of given up with it after only a handful of sessions. Final score: 8/10.

Assassin's Creed: Disappointing, but overall I enjoyed it a lot. The cities were breathtaking in places, and I thought the free running and combat were well implemented, and made me feel every bit the bad-ass I was meant to be. Still has plenty of room to improve though - I'm sure Assassin's Creed 2 will be incredible if the team are given enough time. Final score: 75%

Mass Effect: Fantastic story and dialogue, let down horribly by the engine it runs on. One of the only games I can think of that had an ending that was both an obvious set-up for the sequel, and also incredibly satisfying. Final score: A+

Orange Box: Portal, as you probably know, is short but very sweet. Team Fortress 2 never worked that well for me the few times I tried it, and I'm finding server browsers a chore after getting used to Halo's party and matchmaking systems, so I kind of gave up with that. Half-Life 2 single player (and in that I include all of the episodes) is really showing its age, I think. Stop using see-saw 'puzzles'. Final score: ****


(Incidentally, and please either indulge my ego for a minute or skip this paragraph, if you're wondering why there were no updates in December, it's because I was getting fed up with writing and thinking about what to write, and thinking that I hadn't written enough. I have a regular job, this is just something to keep me entertained and spew forth opinions, and I wanted a break.)

Men of Achievement 2008

Just a week before my 30th birthday, I have finally completed the one and only thing on my "things to do before you are 30" list.



I am better than 550 other people at Voyage mode Easthaven 3 Deck in Soltrio Solitaire. I was so happy I almost cried.

(To be fair to me, I did only add this to my list about a month ago - it's not something that's taken me 29 years to achieve.)