tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29623048149529260432024-03-05T05:53:51.063+00:00Mike JenningsThoughts on games. And other stuff sometimes, too.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-71298006211350176562013-01-17T21:39:00.000+00:002013-01-17T21:39:18.028+00:00Why the latest PS4 and Xbox 720 rumours are wide of the mark
There have been a lot of rumours over the past couple of days about the hardware that's going to be used inside the PS4 and Xbox 720, and the brilliant Lee Bradley pointed me towards the two sets of figures that are causing plenty of debate.
VG247 is reporting that the PS4 will have 1.84 Teraflops of computing power thanks to an AMD A10-based APU, and that the next Xbox will have Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-86025862638567849952012-08-02T16:46:00.000+00:002012-08-02T16:46:29.136+00:00New Star Soccer, smartphone gaming and the absence of difficulty
The man behind New Star Soccer is getting very rich, very fast. Latest estimates put his income at £5,000 a day, and not many games seem to absorb swathes of my Twitter timeline like this one - especially on smartphones.
I had my period of deep addiction: journeys to and from work, nights that became later than they should, exchanging tips with guys in the office when cramming in a few Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-3443484277412374092012-07-16T21:26:00.002+00:002012-07-17T11:34:22.581+00:00Game giveawayRight. I've been doing some sorting out at home, and I've got a load of games I can't trade in. They're free to a good home, and I take no responsibility for their condition, ability to work, whether or not the registration keys or DRM methods are in date or work at all, or anything like that. These are given away as seen.
If you're interested, email or twitter is the best way to get in touch: Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-58934413131824890402011-08-12T11:00:00.018+00:002011-08-12T18:52:22.958+00:00Where's the rest of Summerslam gone?
Warning: this post contains spoilers for Friday 12's edition of Smackdown.
SummerSlam is this Sunday and is one of the WWE's "Big Four" pay-per-view events. It's one of the nights that, along with the Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and - most importantly - WrestleMania, is supposed to go some way into defining the WWE's year. Big things need to happen at these events: major matchesMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-25039315416861101482011-03-10T22:22:00.010+00:002011-03-14T13:05:57.668+00:00Star Wars: Rebel Assault 2, the best awful game I've ever playedWhen I was young, my gaming revolved around my dad's old Atari 2600 - I loved Mario, Combat and Space Invaders - and the MegaDrive, which got plenty of use thanks to games like Sonic, Road Rash, Golden Axe and FIFA.They're all great titles, some even classics. Then I got a PlayStation.On that fateful Christmas morning in 1997 – a few years after the PlayStation’s release - I was stunned by a pairMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-36676118822254578992011-03-03T21:06:00.009+00:002011-03-03T21:38:06.489+00:00Graphics, atmosphere, and how bad gameplay sometimes doesn't matterI love Red Dead Redemption, but the more I think about it the more flaws I find - and, as soon as I find them, I realise that most don't matter. That's what happens when a game's environment, ethos and aesthetic are strong enough to mask gameplay that, in a lesser title, would be accused of lacking innovation and excitement.I loved spending time in New Austin. From Marston's groggy, Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-3197280431484739492010-10-13T19:51:00.013+00:002010-10-15T10:37:34.337+00:00Virtual Hollywood: remembering The MoviesEmily Dredge is Curling One Out. That's the first thing that pops into my head when I think of The Movies, Peter Molyneux's movie-making business sim, even though it's got a respectable Metacritic score of 84, sold enough copies to justify an expansion pack, and still boasts a thriving community on the game's official website.And yet I immediately think of movie stars pooing whenever it's Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-73375136641382224372010-10-09T11:24:00.022+00:002010-10-22T22:06:31.357+00:00BBC Radio 1's Gaming Week: lazy, uninspired and embarrassing. Why bother?We've just come to the end of Radio 1 Gaming Week. I know because the station's replaced its usual trails and promotional clips with whizzes and bangs gleaned from Sonic, Space Invaders, Mario and more, and the presenters seem intent on telling us that the station's suddenly gone games crazy.I'm in two minds about it. After all, ten years ago a national station like Radio 1 wouldn't do something Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-50187905674769632422010-08-10T20:59:00.008+00:002010-08-10T21:15:34.468+00:00Heavy Rain: doing more with less?I've not long finished Heavy Rain - steady play at the start followed by a mad rush to get it finished as I found it more and more engrossing - and it's got me thinking.Obviously, it's a pretty unique proposition in 2010's gaming landscape, even if its design does hark back to to mostly dreadful interactive movie games that flourished when CD-ROMs began to shine.That obvious parallel, though, Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-23510992846125564112010-06-28T20:07:00.004+00:002010-06-28T20:29:14.257+00:00Why hasn't there been more Western games?The Western is one of the classic genres. It probably saw its peak in the world of film, where the likes of John Wayne popularised the classic Western from the 1960's onwards, but the Western is a pervasive influence throughout literature, television, art and beyond - show me a theme park without a "Wild West" section, for instance, and I'll eat my Stetson.The Wild West, though, has never really Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-74456782696909410262010-06-22T21:17:00.007+00:002010-06-22T21:28:40.008+00:00Does Red Dead Redemption need more choice?Red Dead Redemption is rootin' tootin' brilliant right from its audacious initial train journey. The carriage rumbles through the dying embers of the Old West, clearly mimicking Half Life's opening moments but going one step beyond in every way: Marston may be travelling on his own, but this time he's surrounded by lifelike, talking NPCs who begin to paint a picture of New Austin. And, while HalfMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-29354984627539424682010-01-26T22:18:00.005+00:002010-01-26T22:40:53.433+00:00Skiing: bloody expensiveI'm going skiing with 7 colleagues on Thursday night and, well, certain preparations have to be made. Insurance has to be bought, tickets have to be procured, accommodation arranged. For novices - like six of us - lessons have to be booked and, if necessary, transport. Luckily for us, we're travelling overnight on a coach, and it's included as part of the deal. That's way better than a two hour Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-23991699314046480552010-01-24T10:47:00.006+00:002010-01-25T21:48:02.299+00:00Why nostalgia is a load of old tosh It's the same every time a new year runs around. Every gaming website or magazine worth its salt - or bereft of ideas, depending on your viewpoint - unleashes a Game of the Year feature, where the best titles of the past twelve months are decided and rewarded, usually with a paragraph. If they're lucky.One unwanted side-effect of these retrospective articles is the inevitable surge of the Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-73715123149387799472010-01-23T23:10:00.005+00:002010-01-24T10:29:14.284+00:00Metro's headlines: sensationalist, unethical and simply not trueMy morning routine is, like most people, the same every day: get up, watch Neighbours, eat toast, get dressed and go to work. I don't normally read the free Metro; instead, I'm usually working, playing games or watching a DVD.The paper - which is distributed to almost three million people daily - is still visible over countless shoulders. That made yesterday's front page headline, "Video gaming Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-80098830526261812252009-12-11T21:20:00.004+00:002009-12-11T21:56:25.559+00:00Why Microsoft's marketing is cynical, cheap - and brilliantMicrosoft is, increasingly, an awful lot like Apple when it comes to marketing.A couple of years ago Redmond seemed comfortable to sit in its nerdy niche but, ever since the arrival of advertising guru Steve Ballmer as CEO, the firm has paid plenty of attention – and spent plenty of money – on revamping its image.It’s arguable that only the crucial Windows group has more of a marketing focus thanMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-19553026777226048172009-11-26T21:11:00.005+00:002009-11-26T21:36:49.875+00:00First impressions: Left 4 Dead 2Aside from That Evil Game With The Level In The Airport©, Left 4 Dead 2 is probably one of the most controversial PC releases of the year, albeit for all the wrong reasons.The fans revolted, you see, because Valve decided to develop a sequel to the original only a year after release, while promising to still release DLC for the first Left 4 Dead game. How dare they develop a bigger, better and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-41479703351092700922009-11-19T20:35:00.004+00:002009-11-19T20:52:42.876+00:00Aion and MMOs - a delicate balancing actThe past few weeks of playing in Aion have, at least for me, illustrated that getting the balance right, especially when it comes to MMOs, is vitally important.Take my tenure as a Ranger - while I thought that running around with superb blade and arrow skills would be awesome, I found that my weak armour (I couldn't use chain or plate, for instance) and lack of actual melee weapon proficiency wasMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-47958866282392942602009-10-24T16:18:00.006+00:002009-10-24T16:57:18.477+00:00Big name games: are they really that bad?“Guitar Hero is exactly what’s wrong with the games industry”, said my colleague, after I’d found out that Santa Monica by Everclear would be appearing in the upcoming pop spin-off, Band Hero.But why?When it debuted in 2005, Guitar Hero was universally adored. Everyone loved its innovative take on the rhythm action genre (never mind that guitar games have been popular in Japan for years), and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-15017246398240228802009-10-19T19:35:00.004+00:002009-10-19T19:53:18.176+00:00It's the little details that countGames are huge. From the sprawling expanse of Oblivion to the high concepts of Half Life, modern games – and I’m talking the big ones, those with budgets that run into the millions – are pretty damned massive and, often, all the better for it.Of course, taking a keen interest in the big picture means that plenty of games miss the finer details, letting incidental information slip by the wayside Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-82396246161790220272009-10-17T17:30:00.012+00:002009-10-17T19:49:25.255+00:00First impressions: Aion, the new MMO from NCSoftI've had a chequered history with MMORPGs: Guild Wars was entertaining but the lack of actual community play hampered the experience, and Tabula Rasa was a huge step forward for NCSoft - and I'm in no doubt that the involvement of Ultima supremo Richard Garriot played a large part in that.On the other hand, I've never played the "daddy" of MMO games, World of Warcraft, despite being a huge fan ofMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-7865265307008652402009-02-03T21:45:00.001+00:002009-02-03T21:45:23.580+00:00Snow place like LondonThe last few days have seen a strange mood descend upon London. The preverbial blanket of snow has seen people's usual sense of hurried activity and rushed anger somewhat muffled, instead to be replaced with an unbridled atmosphere of childish glee as the normally furious pace of London is replaced with snowballs and smiles. I was walking to work when I first noticed it: I had no idea who he was,Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-78754757682651091262008-08-07T20:15:00.002+00:002008-08-07T20:29:06.591+00:00Fantastic, Addictive, Brilliant Contraptions...Oh dear. I appear to have gotten my whole office addicted to a flash game called Fantastic Contraption.As usual with these things, it's remarkably simple: a pink shape needs to get into an end zone, and you're given a limited palette of tools and shapes to make it happen. Build a fantastic contraption - the clue's in the name - and watch as an ingenious physics engine brings your creation to lifeMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-6803571336695779212008-07-12T14:07:00.007+00:002008-07-12T16:25:54.940+00:00My Favourite Games: Road RashOn a Friday evening, when I was younger, Mum used to collect me and my brother from school, and then we'd go over to visit my Paternal Grandparents. They live in a flat above my Dad's shop and, so, while we were waiting for Dad and Grandad to finish work, we'd chat, watch TV, all the usual stuff.Quite often, I'd take my MegaDrive with me and plug it into their TV and play and, more often than notMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-34008332042170442292008-06-17T21:52:00.001+00:002008-06-17T21:57:28.924+00:00Metal Gear Solid 4: First ImpressionsI'm reviewing this game for Den of Geek this week - so be sure to look out for the review when it goes online.Anyway, I got home tonight and I've been playing on the game for an hour or so and, so far, I'm pretty impressed.It does get off to an odd start, but you're thrust into the action pretty soon. It's incredibly cinematic, switching from intricate, gorgeously animated cut-scenes to gameplay Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962304814952926043.post-15307140806904559572008-05-23T20:41:00.002+00:002008-05-23T20:51:05.711+00:00Overload, much?So, on Tuesday I got a ticket to go to an advance press screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, so I could review it for Den of Geek.The film's a bit special, but you'll have to go and read my review to find out.In the meantime, I seem to have totally overloaded myself with games that I'm just aching to play.As well as rushing around London on release day to get hold of aMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613026177837443204noreply@blogger.com2