All I can say is.....

Fuck

Is it just me or does Mickey B have a problem with the English language?

There's a war going on people!!

Saw an interesting little article today, Michael Bay (he off the very loud and not particularly good films) will not be making Transformers 2!! I'm still weeping now.

Now that fact that he won't be making Transformers 2 has nothing to do with him suddenly realising he made a right mess of Transformers 1, but more to do with Paramount and DreamWorks deciding to pop there arse completely over the fence, majestically landing on the side of HD-DVD. This has upset Mickey as his Magnum Opus (which sounds a bit like the Autobot they keep in the loft and don't like to talk about) will not be hitting Blu-Ray this Chrimmy. I hate to disappoint him but his little movie hit the Usenet servers roughly 3.5 minutes after its first screening.

This got me thinking. I have a dusty PS3 and a radiator I like to call a 360; Blu-Ray in one, HD-DVD in the other. This decision shouldn't worry me, as I have both systems and have no intention to buy Transformers on either format no matter how detailed it may be, but for some reason it does.

I'm beginning to feel that I have bought into the war, I have bought new format discs, I have supported both sides. I can no longer claim to be a conscientious objector, but that’s what I feel I should be.

For a while I have been converting my legally purchased DVD's into AVI files, storing them on a rather large hard drive and streaming them to the telly via XBMC on my old brick. Alternatively I have been downloading the films that I already own to save me the bother, in 15 minutes. You heard me correctly a good quality AVI in 15 minutes, perfectly watchable and in some cases my old eyes couldn't tell you the difference between the AVI and the DVD (even when up scaled). A library of films, all available at press of a button, a button even the Doris and kids can use!! Those shelves, the ones over there, see them, the ones that were groaning under the weight of all the DVD’s we own. Nope no more, they are all in the loft now, those are empty shelves, nice aren’t they. We live in a digital age, a world spinning to the sound of 0 and 1’s, so why are we arguing about a disc format? Why am I bothering buying any disc format? Where are my downloadable movies? In HD? With DTS sound (I have no need for 7 speakers)?

Sony, Microsoft UK (yes we know the sceptics already have this) I'm looking at you. Whichever one of you can get me my downloads, at a reasonable price, will win my business. Whichever one of you manages to get over yourselves and utilises your multi-media systems for multi-media rather than some crippled, DRM-infected file type, gets my sheckles. Do you want my sheckles?

Stop trying to get me to don my cammo gear and camp out for you in this war you seem to want to perpetuate, I'm sticking a flower in my hair and shouting peace man. We ain't gonna wait for you guys forever; there are ways and means, free love.

NS oot

Will SKU just stop?!

Many moons ago when Microsoft released details it's new Xbox 360, Sony were quick to criticise the company. Two different versions of the one console was, they pointed out, confusing to consumers. To be honest I didn't think that it was complicated. I thought that the Core was lame, but not confusing. Premium was where I wanted to be, and I assumed that the Core would disappear after a while. Fast forward to the PS3 launch, and again it seemed two versions of the console would be released. Again, the choice seemed pretty straight forward for me though in the end only the 60Gb version made it to Europe.

I understand the desire to have a cheaper console along side the top spec one. But things are getting out of hand. Microsoft now have an Xbox 360 Core, Xbox 360 Premium and Xbox 360 Elite. Sony have the 20Gb, 60Gb and 80Gb versions of the PS3, along with slightly different insides depending on whether or not it has hardware or soft/hardware PS2 emulation.

The thing is, the temptation to upgrade just isn't there for me. The 360 looks stunning running on VGA, and I have no desire to start paying MS for films or TV. So they can keep their incredibly expensive new 120Gb hard drive (£130?!). I can pick up a huge SATA hard drive for the PS3 pretty cheap, so even PS3 owners with the 20Gb machine have no need to upgrade. I understand all of this - it's not complicated. But for an industry that says it wants to be mainstream, it has a lot to learn.

How many non-gamers are looking at the current market and wondering what the hell is going on? It's not enough that we have three systems with three different disk formats. Now we have different versions of them too. It's a ridiculous state of affairs. Perhaps it's no surprise that the only new console on the market to have one simple SKU is the one that is running away with the first prize. If the Wii was any more mainstream it would be made by Ford. Yes it's no-frills, run of the harware. But it's easy for people to understand, even if they haven't been playing games for 25 years. It's time Sony and Microsoft started to learn some lessons from Nintendo.

My love for EA

"Yes, at last!" I exclaimed as I watched my stats hit 100%, "finally I have acheived it, I have achieved my goal. I am now ready to take on the world, online play here I come" I shouted to bemused looks from the kitten chewing on my left foot. Tiger Wood 2007; you are mine.

Ok, maybe a little explanation is needed. I've never been a TW fan, I was always a Links lover on the ol' brick and 360, but due to my compatriates in OAP extolling the virtues of TW07 I decided to give it a shot. Down to Game I went clutching my grubby notes in my hand, these I exchanged for a new, shiney game. Home I rushed to present my gift to the black dust god in my lounge, and it began to load......

To begin with I was shite, absolutley shite. My first online game I managed a round of 100 odd..not good, time to stat up my golfer. So I approached the offline game...and I was hooked. I've now been playing this game for a solid 2 months, no other disk has been near PS3. It's a great way to relax after work, a couple of rounds of golf, sat on my arse for an hour after a hard days work sat on my arse for 8 hours. Last night I reached my goal, and thats where we came in.

Chatting to Bendz today, I mentioned my acheivment and whether he was up for a round or two this weekend, now that I may stand a chance. "TW07?" he asked, "TWo8 is out at the end of the month isn't it?". My blood ran cold, surely this could not be true, EA wouldn't do this to me would they? So off to the game website I trot, and yes, there it is, TW08 release date 31/8/2007.

WHY EA WHY? Why do this to me and the many other faithfull out there? It's still 2007, 2008 isn't for a fair few months.

On a serious note here and the point of the above tale, I'm sure this is the 21st century. We have PSN, a great idea...why am i expected to pay another £40 for an iteration of a game that now includes "Shot Confidence"? Now the game knows when I'm crap at a hole and (even if I may stand a chance) fuck my shot up for me because I have the other 20 times I've played it! This is a glorified upgrade isn't it? I would be more than happy to pay £20 for a download from PSN that "upgrades" my current version to the new.

Even worse, I can't find any mention of being able to transfer my golfer. I HAVE JUST SPENT 2 MONTHS IMPROVING MY GOLFER YOU BASTARDS!! So now I have to start again, all that work gone, my evenings...............gone.

EA I love you, but at the same time I hate you. I'll buy the new version, you know I will, thats why you do it to me. I'll even trade in the new version and get £1.99 for it as I'm sure you'll be turning the servers off in a couple of weeks. But hear me, and hear me good, if I see Tiger Woods walking down my High Street anytime soon, he will be getting a twatting........

.......and relax

(nieve) NS out.

PS. Special mention goes out to Kai...just because OK

Fanboys, Forums and Children

I am old enough to remember some famous match ups in the video game industry. I was one of the playground foot soldiers fighting the corner for my beloved Speccy against the heathen C64 clan. I was there when the Atari ST and the Amiga fought to the death. I watched as Mario and Sonic beat the hell out of each other. When the Dreamcast was finally finished off by the PS1 before the PS2 had even got into it's stride, I was there to bid it farewell. Sony's dominance of course extended against the Xbox, but it was much closer than anyone expected. No-one dies. And now we are back to the traditional one on one bloodfest. PS3 v Xbox 360.

Now before any Nintendo fans jump down my throat I should say that I have not forgotten the Wii. On the contrary, the Wii is a huge (and inexplicable!) success. But it was Nintendo themselves who went to great lengths to tell us that the Wii was not next gen, but "new gen". They have cleverly placed the Wii in its own little place. So let's leave it there.

So it's Microsoft v Sony. Two companies that instantly generate opinions in the gaming world. MS is of course viewed as an evil corporation and peddler of sub standard products. Sony meanwhile is viewed by many older gamers as the scourge of gamer, putting quantity firmly before quality. And attracting lots and lots of kids. But what both sides have their own global PR departments. They don't hire any staff. They don't even publicly recognise that they are there. But both companies use them none the less. Fanboys.

First off let me immediately acknowledge Fangirls. This is not something which is unique to males. But the term Fanboy has come to be more of a generic term, so that's what I'll use here. So. Fanboy. Let's turn to our lexicon of all things, Wikipedia for a definition.

"Fanboy is a term used to describe an individual (usually male, though the feminine version fangirl may be used for females) who is utterly devoted to a single fannish subject, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession. Fanboys remain loyal to their particular obsession, disregarding any factors that differ from their point of view."

Sound familiar? Thought so, particularly the part about "disregarding any factors that differ from their point of view". That's important because without that you become a little more rational.

So we have one set of people screaming on about the PS3 being the best thing ever, while at the same time mocking any and every aspect of the Xbox 360. Two way traffic here though, as the 360 owners ate pointing at the PS3 and doing exactly the same thing. So what? As I said this has been happening for years. Nothing new. Well there are a couple of subtle differences this time round. Firstly people have far more access to the internet now than in the past. So it's easier for someone to post their views up on a forum. Moreover, there is less responsibility required because of the faceless nature of forums. You can rant on in the most illogical and ill-informed manner you like. There’s no real comeback.

The second difference is the one that mystifies me. Fanboys are not boys anymore. They are men and women. The pursuit of childish division is now carried out with gusto by otherwise rational adults. Why? Are these just fanboys who have grown up only to find that part of their brain hasn't developed? It's very odd. And very. very boring. I frequent a number of forums that purport to be aimed at mature gamers. Mature? Are you kidding?! Go onto an Xbox 360 or PS3 forum and mention the other machine and you will often be met with a barrage of childish, inaccurate and downright pathetic comments. Others will constantly snipe, hiding behind the façade of “just having a laugh”. And these are “adults” remember. Even more bizarre is the situation faced but people like myself who own both systems. Some people simply cannot handle that you could enjoy the different games offered by both systems. Why do they do this?

I guess there are a few factors. All fans are like this. Ask a football supporter what he or she thinks of their fierce local rival and you will rarely get an answer of “yeah they are a good team, play attractive football”. So maybe I am expecting too much. The companies involved certainly don’t want it to stop. They drip feed information and misinformation to their loyal fans and then leave them to evangelise their systems and games all over the place. I think that one of the biggest factors might be money.

If you buy a games console you are investing a lot of money. If you have bought a PS3 then right now the stark reality is that you have spent hundreds of pounds on a system that has so far failed to deliver a game that goes anywhere near justifying that investment. The 360 meanwhile will be 2 years old this year, and so will plateau in the next 6 months. Do you really want to admit that the system that you have been pouring money into for the last 2 years is getting on a bit?

So maybe todays fanboys and girls aren’t trying to convince anyone else that their system is the best one. Maybe they are trying to convince themselves. But keep it down will you? While you are banging on about hardware architecture, servers and subscription fees some of us are trying to play games.

A New Dawn for PS3?

It’s been a long time coming. We have endured sloppy Xbox 360 ports that weren’t as good as the original. We have seen exclusive after exclusive popping up on the release schedules of other consoles. Weeks went past with nothing of note appearing on PSN. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. The good times are almost here.

It all started with, curiously enough., an Xbox 360 port. When Rainbow 6: Vegas arrived on PS3 things changed. It wasn’t the first network game, it wasn’t the first FPS. It’s not even the best looking. But for a game that demands good communication and teamwork it can’t be bettered. Just as important is the dead room Players can chat with other corpses and their remaining team members and it perhaps this more than anything which has made this the game that is defining the PS3 online experience

So at last we have game that we can spend hours online with. But of course you could have done this on an Xbox 360 couldn’t you? Or a PC for that matter. It’s not exactly a reason to rush out and buy a system. Is it? Well maybe not. Not on it’s own anyway. But Vegas isn’t going to on it’s own much longer.

E3 showed just what a game that is built from the ground up for PS3 can look like. Killzone 2 wowed everyone with it’s graphical quality. But this week saw the first game play footage of a title that is even more important. Metal Gear Solid 4. And it didn’t disappoint.

The 15 minute demo showed off lot’s of very cool features. The active camouflage system looks fantastic. The ability to throw yourself on your back and fire at enemies behind you is a great idea. But as well as the obvious stuff there were some lovely little touches. The scraps of paper blowing in the wind, swirling on a backdrop of a war torn city in the middle east, the PS2 pad used to control the Metal Gear robot, even the lad mag that you can use to divert the attention of enemies – it’s a game that seems to excel on the little details as much as it does on the big and flashy features. Hideo Kojima loves his series, and with this being the final instalment you can bet that he is going to be going all out to make a fitting swansong.

Also this week the Heavenly Sword demo went up on PSN. It’s short – maybe 6 or 7 minutes of game play – but it is a beautiful game. At the beginning of the level you get a close up of your characters face. The emotion as she describes the fate of her villagers instantly makes you want to help her. Although you can just bash your way through the demo you will get far more out of it if you take your time. There is more to this game than meets the eye, and getting into a button tapping rhythm is the most satisfying way to despatch the enemies. The counter system works wonderfully well too. Again there are some nice little touches. For example you can pick up an object and throw it. Nothing particularly clever there, but if you keep the button held down then you get an in-flight view of the object. Better yet you can steer the object using the Sixaxis tilt function. Clever huh?

Other good news included an announcement from Rockstar that they are developing a brand new franchise. Exclusively for PS3. No word on how much this has cost Sony – the GTA Xbox 360 exclusive content is rumoured to have cost Microsoft $50 million. Imagine paying $50 million just to stop people playing a video game. Madness

So things are looking up. The release schedule is getting pretty crowded. Both Lair and Warhawk now have release dates. And don’t forget Little Big Planet and Home are coming too. From now until the end of the year we are going to have plenty of games to play, and 2008 should be the best year yet. So keep the faith. We are going to have a lot of fun.

After the storm - E3 2007

This years E3 was arguably the most important in Sony’s videogame career. The PS3 has not, it’s safe to say, had the easiest of times. From hardware delays to the loss of exclusives and a threadbare release schedule the PS3 has had a bumpy old ride. The machine’s highlights have been few and far between, so it seemed important that Sony made a strong showing at E3.

Microsoft held their conference first. After a nice live rendition of the main Halo theme the Seattle beast presented a safe line-up that held no real surprises. They didn’t need to though-with Halo 3, Bioshock and Mass Effect waiting in the wings the 360 has plenty of games coming that will keep fans happy. More importantly, they already have a pretty big selection of top games to choose from.

Next up Nintendo outdid themselves on the strange-o-meter. Reggie did his best not to look too uncomfortable as the Wii told him that he has had a few more pies than he should have. Meanwhile fitness trainers waved their limbs around in an effort to look as though this really is the future of keeping fit. We weren’t convinced, and to be honest even Reggie looked under whelmed. Nintendo have made some strange decisions over the years, but you have to wonder how this one will fair.

So with the competition playing it safe and barmy in equal measure Sony were left to try and inspire. Phil Harrison appeared in person and on Home throughout, and it makes a nice change to see company devote so much time to something that is ostensibly free. Ok, so it gives Sony and it’ partners an easy way so sell stuff, but the integration between Home and games looked promising. Home could well become the main “dashboard” for the PS3.

What we were really looking for though was retail games that would sell the PS3. And to be fair Sony ticked a lot of boxes. Wipeout HD looked really nice, and was moving at a fare old rate. Gran Tourismo 5 looked gorgeous, but neither game really showed what play would look like.. Little Big Planet continues to impress both graphically and in terms of the gameplay mechanics. It’s just the sort of innovative title that the PS3 needs.

Another title that continues to excite is Uncharted. Visually it’s stunning, all the more cinematic for shunning any sort of HUD. If they nail the gameplay this could be a cracker.

There were others of course, butt he over riding impression that I had from the conference was that as good as Sony’s presentation was, it still has a long way to go. PSN needs to be developed further, and they desperately need to get some high profile exclusives that will shift hardware. Microsoft has some top titles due for the 360 for the rest of the financial year. Sony needs to start matching these.

It also appears that Europe has slipped on Sony’s list of priorities. With everything from PSN releases to retail titles slipping here, and with prices here just about as high as they are anywhere in the world, I can’t help but get the impression that we are getting the Nintendo treatment.

So, as I said this was probably Sony’s most important E3 to date. Was it a success? I’d say a cautious yes. But they have a lot of work to do if they are going to challenge Microsoft. It could be a very interesting 12 months.

ThreeView Changes

No, we are not dead!! Far from it. But we have been extremely busy playing games. I was going to kid on and say that we have been busy at work, have personal lives that need looking after, that we had joined a gym... yeah I know, you wouldn't have believed any of that. Safe to say certain Mr Clancy has come along and given us new love for all things Sony. Well, the PS3 at least. And it’s just going to get better from here on in.

Here’s the deal. There are a lot of PS3 and video game related websites. Most of these report news that appears on other sites. And they are doing the same. So everyone is chasing the same news and trying to spin it in different ways. That’s time consuming and largely pretty unsatisfying from a writers point of view, and ultimately a little shallow for you. So we are changing. We will still comment on important news stories of course. But from now on we are looking to give you features. Fewer articles yes, but more detailed and more original. We play games a lot, just like you do. We know what you want to see.

ThreeView is written by gamers, for gamers. So that’s what we will concentrate. We will leave the Reuters chasing stuff for others. We hope you enjoy the new approach. If you have any comments or ideas on ThreeView content then get in touch.

ThreeView

Lair site open

Lair has been on the radar for a long time now - so long in fact that I was starting to lose a bit of enthusiasm for the title. Just as well then that Sony have opened a lovely new website for the game. Its suitably dramatic orchestral score sets the scene well, and if the actual gameplay is anything like as pretty as the cut scenes then we could be onto a winner.

SIXAXIS contol is also an intriguing prospect. Although a few games have supported it, it's been very much in the "Oh yeah that's kind of cool... can you turn it off now?" category. Fingers crossed folks. Check out the new site here.

Final Fantasy XIII misses E3

Hands up if you are surprised by this. Anyone? Nope. 1UP appear to have revealed in a recent podcast that FFXIII won't make it to the party this year. It's a real shame, because this game could well shift consoles. If the preview CGI from last years E3 is anthing to go buy this game is going ot be beautiful. Never mind, all good things come to those who wait. I hate that saying. Nuts, give us our games now!