Preview: TES VI Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls is a game series that is synonymous with roleplaying, its three games have brought open ended gaming to a new level. In 2003 TES III Morrowind, showed that the term Action/Rpg doesnt have to be 90% action and 10% rpg with a game that had some incredible FPS style combat as well as the Roleplaying that gamers want in a game. My only complaint with the game was that it was TO immense and To open ended. I had a huge world with hundreds of quests and novels worth of text in the form of conversations and books. Despite these problems i would still give the game a 9/10. Oblivion, however, looks like it might be the greatest RPG ever, and considering I still cling to Baldurs Gate, thats saying something. This title was supposed to be an Xbox 360 launch title but it was postponed till early 2006, it will be available on both the 360 and the PC, but be warned, its gonna need a monster comp. The graphics ive seen are amazing, I sometimes cant tell that its a screenshot. Some amazing new features are the forest system, which are randomly generated using a program which creates 100% realistic woods, the new A.I., which will actually have townsfolk get up, eat breakfast, go to work, go home, read/practice skills etc. and then go to sleep, and finally, a revamped physics and combat system. Another cool new thing is the ease with which you can find your way through the game, instead of having to spend hours leveling, then doing a mission. It looks as thought you can progress at a steady pace. This is not to say you are led through the game by a string, just that you arent left on the corner in a cardboard box.

The game looks like it could be one of the best ever.... We'll have to wait and see.

Art in games: Is it possible?

The other night I saw Dajid Jaffe (God of War, Twisted Metal series) on tv, he was asked why God of War wasnt art Jaffe responded by saying that he didnt think any games were art, and that video games have not reached that level yet. I beg to differ, I believe that there are several games that could easily qualify as art, here they are and why:

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
quite possibly the best flight game ever, this game blends magnificent story, striking music and amazing graphics into a game that will have your heart beating from start to finish. Why is it art? Because between the cutscenes and the beutiful dogfights (thats right, beutiful) you are left speechless.

Shadow of the Collosuss
An incredibly rich adventure in a beutifully rendered world, Shadow of the Collosuss represents a huge leap forward in artistic gaming.

Baldur's Gate
2D roleplaying was so fun, and this game is a perfect example of why. With its gorgeous spell effects and wonderful story/characters, Baldur's Gate is a must have for any RPG fan

Final Fantasy 7&8
both of these titles offer rich, compelling stories as well as incredible characters, monsters and enviroments.

so there you have it, some of the most artistic games to be released ever. Do you agree?

Game review: Echo Night, Beyond

yes I know, this game is a year old, but I just bought it recently so I thought I would drop a review. I have stared at this game in Game stop for months, but I was always afraid to buy it as it is only $14.99 brand new... yikes, but I finally succumed to the allure of the beutiful packaging. The game is set in the year 2044, you and your fiancee are on a space trip when disaster strikes, and you crash into a sprawling moon base. After the haunting intro movie your character regains consciousness, only to find the shuttle empty and mangled and the residents of the moon base are all dead with only ghostly imprints of their former selves, you of course, must save the souls to find your lost love one. The best part of the game is the graphics, I mean the game is gorgious, with creepy hallways and great looking ghosts. But what is graphics without gameplay? Honestly, although not as frightening as games like RE4 and Silent Hill, the game is creepy, as you walk along you will hear a light break behind you, or a ghost hountingly calling out for a lost friend, yea, it geats unnerving. Unfortunately with all this atmosphere there is very little meat and potatoes, the game revolves around bringing items to ghosts in distress and clearing fog in rooms where evil ghosts reside to calm them. One very cool thing is the save rooms, in them there are monitors which allow you to prepare yourself for enemy encounters by looking at all the rooms in your area through cameras, the coolest part is that by finding little green areas in the rooms with the cameras you will unlock cutscenes that help you to unravel the cause of the deaths at the moonbase. In the end, this game is a bit repetitive but the fun of uncovering the secrets of the story makes you not care and the price point is incredible for this game, it gets an above average score but it is definently a buy for its price.
Final score: 7/10
The good: hearing the creaking of a monitor that was knocked loose
the bad: realizing that you have just done the same thing as you did in the last room
The ugly: running out of battery just when you are frantically running away from an enemyt ghost.

coming soon: The Matrix: Path Of Neo review