So it is upon us! E3 2013!

Before it properly kicks off, here are 5 games I would love to see announced this year:

1. Timesplitters 4

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the Timesplitters series. The crazy arcade multiplayer action, effective yet simple mapmaker, fun story that could be played co-op the whole way, and the entire series with tongue in cheek humour, never taking itself seriously i all loved.

One of the worst bits of new to me this entire generation, was the news of Free Radical Design (Timesplitters, Haze) closing down. Not too long after they were bought out by Crytek, and were renamed Crytek UK. Since then I have been holdig out for a new Timesplitters announcement, but nothing as of yet. Make it happen Crytek! Arcade shooters are no good without you!

2. New James Bond game

I am a massive fan of James Bond, and it's something about the well made James Bond games that I feel stand out from a lot of other shooters. In my eyes, when a James Bond game is given to a decent developer, they can make a really incredible game. Quantum of Solace (PS3/360/PC) this gen is a good example of this in my eyes. Made by Treyarch, the game gives the perfect atmosphere as James Bond, and the shooting is just perfect. Every gun feels powerful and useful in it's own way, with realistic recoil and sound, which is a rare achievement in a lot of shooters today (in comparison, when I play a game like CoD4,  lot opf the guns feel little more than pea shooters). On top of the great playing story mode, the game also had an amazing multiplayer mode, which although most of the modes were like Call of Duty, there were also sweet other modes, like Golden Gun, Bond Vs all, and another mode where Bond has to escape without dying.

3. Demon's Souls 2

I am a huge fan of both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, and I am hugely looking forward to Dark Souls 2. That being said though, I would love to see a Demon's Souls 2 as well. Having a nexus and set levels is a thing I really preferred in Demon's Souls over Dark Souls, and it would be great to see this for the PS4 in the near future.

4. Gran Turismo 6 on the PS4

When GT6 was announced one of the things that most surprised (and I guess annoyed) me was the announcement that GT6 is a PS3 game. I would love it if they announce it to be coming to PS4 at e3. Better graphics, more stable frame rate, better level of detail, I just feel GT6 would be better on the PS4 than PS3, and it would make me instantly buy a PS4 for it.

5. Burnout Paradise 2

One of my favourite racing games this generation was Burnout Paradise. Free roaming in a Burnout game I felt to be a perfect combo (I now some of the more hardcore Burnout fans didn't like this change, but I loved it). For the rest of the gen, I kept getting disappointed to hear Criterion making yet another Need For Speed game instead of going to their Burnout franchise. Maybe it's time for a sequel to Paradise, but on next gen consoles? A new open World Burnout would be amazing to me.

What games would you like to see announced at e3 or in the near future?

Peace.

This is part 2 of my list of 20 standout games this generation. Part 1 is here . In no particular order again, here is 11-20 of my list:

11. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006, Bethesda Softworks, 360/PC/PS3)

While I very much loved the sequel: Skyrim, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Oblivion for short) made much more of an impact to me. Maybe it was just because it was the first open world game I played this generation, but I was just amazed by this game. In fact so much so that when I first stepped out of the sewers into the wide World I became overwhelmed with options and stopped playing it for a week! While filled with many bugs and glitches, some awful facial models, and very few voice actors, this game provided many many hours of main and side quests, with many items to collect and enchant. And when I completed it, I just went back and modded the game to get many more hours out of it! To me this is a massive stand out this generation, and paved the way for open World games for the rest of the generation, setting the bar high.

12. Bioshock (2007, Irrational Games, 360/PC/PS3)

If you haven't already played this title, then would you kindly do so? Bioshock really set about creating an original and immersive World, one set under the sea, where man eventually became mad from splicing their DNA to gain new abilities. Not only is the World of Bioshock so compelling, the shooting is also spot on, you have a huge arsenal of abilities, plasmids and weapons to fight your foes. This game drew me in with it's concept, but it really kept me engrossed with the story it had to tell as well, and it's a game I have been able to play through multiple times, which is rare for me for a shooter! Bioshock did very well both in scores and sales, and set a standard for single player shooters.

13. Limbo (2010, Playdead, 360/PC/PS3/Vita/etc.)

While this game does not stand out in the same ways as the other games: it doesn't have technically great graphics, it didn't receieve incredible reviews, it doesn't have a massive following. But what it does have is a completely unique art style, that influenced other small companies, and even larger ones, to explore new visual themes not seen so much before in video games. The game itself was a brutal platformer where one mistake could easily be fatal (and usually would be). The game had an incredible atmosphere though too, that made the player feel completely alone in this World, as a defensless boy; with little sound aside from the footsteps, and the black and white visuals.

14. Little Big Planet (2008, Media Molecule, PS3)

Little Big Planet brought about an entirely new genre to gaming, an achievement in itself. This game emphasised Play, Create, Share, and did it well. The game itself is a platformer that was suitable for just about anybody (I mean seriosly, I managed to get my gf at the time to play it and even my parents; all of which NEVER play games!). It had striking visuals, a very catchy soundtrack. and featured Sackboy or sackgirl, a cute little sackthing as the character. Up to 4 players could play co-operatively through the story or on user created levels. This was critically praised and sold many copies, enough for Media Molecule to create the even better Little Big Planet 2 a couple of years later.

15. Crysis (2007, Crytek, PC (main))

Not a lot to be said about this game other than this: it pushed the graphical bar far and above EVERYTHING else for at least the next 3 years, meaning that graphics were playing catch up to this game for a long time, inspiring and pushing developers graphically far more than maybe they would have. If Crysis didn't exist, games might not look so good today than they might have done. And yes, graphics are certainly not everything, but to me, nioce aesthetics go a long long way to engrossing me in a game and enjoying it even more. The gameplay wasn't too bad, it was a solid open World shooter, but to me (and many others) the standout of this game is definitely the bar raising visuals it is famous for!

16. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005, Rockstar Leeds, PSP (main))

This game really showed what the PSP was capable back at the launch of the PSP. Mot only that, but it pushed the idea of console gaming on a handheld much further than any title on the DS had been able to do before this point, showing that the PSP meant business. Sure the PSP trailed off not too long down the line, but this was a very very strong start for the PSP, and for a full fledged GTA title to be on a portable console was certainly mind boggling at the time! This also led way to the brilliant sequel Vice City Stories, which had an even larger open world, and brought flyable helicopters.

17. Goldeneye 007 (2010, Eurocom, Wii)

The Goldeneye 007 game on the Wii was a standout game to me, as it proved that core shooters could be done well on the system. The game was a reimagining of the Goldeneye story (not a straight up remake of the N64 title), so it felt quite fresh to me. It was a good try at drawing core gamers back to the Wii as well, those like me who were not necasserily a fan of most of Nintendo's first party offerings and so did not find much of interest on the Wii. While the game was fun, and it worked pretty well, I'm not sure how well it sold on the system. (The screenshot here is from the later released Goldeneye Reloaded, which was released on PS3 and 360, with improved visuals, but largely the same game).

18. Assassin's Creed 2 (2009, Ubisoft Montreal, 360/PS3/PC)

After the slightly disappointing Assassin's Creed, which fell short on it's incredible and ambitious premise, Ubisoft had a lot to prove with the next entry into the franchise. And did it deliver. Assassin's Creed II not only improved in every single way over the first AC (Assassin's Creed), it also added a compelling new protagonist, Ezio Auditore di Firenze, a young rebellious nobleman who finds himself mixed up with Assassins and templars, becoming an assassin himself to avenge his family member's deaths. The game was set in renaisance Italy, delivering beautiful environments across locations such as Florence and Venice, among others. The game was brilliant to play through multiple times for me, and is also the best game in the franchise in my opinion.

19. God of War: Chains of Olympus (2008, Ready At Dawn, PSP)

 One of my favourite God of War games, I think Chains of Olympus stands out because it really pushed the PSP hardware, I mean this title looks incredible on the PSP screen, probably the best graphics I had seen at the time on the system. Not only that but gameplay wise it was a full fledged God of War title, nothing felt below the high standard of a normal console GoW (God of War) title, which is why I say it stands out so much. 

20. Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010, Frictional Games, PC)

Some people may argue with this choice, but to me this game stood out a lot. Simply put, this is the scariest game I have ever played, but I mean that in a good way. Set in 1839, you play as protagonist Daniel, who finds himself waking up in a castle without his memory, and it is up to you to piece back together why you are there, and why there are shadowy creatures everywhere... The game is a first person game, with a lot of physics based puzzles. Some of the puzzles will really make you think, but for the most part the puzzles are generally fairly easy. What is not so easy is the enemies. Not only are they terrifying, but they also cause the protagonist to go insane just to look at them, and Daniel has no weapons but to run away from any enemies! This game stands out to me, not only because it is so scary, but also because it was made by such a small development team, but feels incredible. The suspense and atmosphere get to me every time.

So there you have it, that is my list of the 20 most stand out games this generation in my eyes. What do you think to the  list? What are your standout games this generation? 

Peace

This generation is coming to a close now. When I look back, it has been a pretty good generation with some games that have really stood out. Here I have listed the 20 games tnta really stood out to me this generation that I have played (in no particular order):

1. Demon's Souls (2009, From Software, PS3)

Demon's Souls is one of the biggest stand outs for me this generation. Where many games started dumbing down core gameplay mechanics, and making the game easier to be more accessible to a broader demographic; Demon's Souls did the opposite. This game was a challenging and unforgiving RPG, with a lot of replay value. As unforgiving as it was, it was still an exceptionally fun game, one that I ended up playing more than any other this entire generation, through multiple save games and new game pluses.

2. Alan Wake (2010, Remedy Entertainment, 360/PC)

Alan Wake is a game that stood out to me because of it's story telling. Sure the story itself was nothing original [spoiler] man and girlfriend happy, girl get's taken away, guy fights to get her back, it's same old [/spoiler] , but it was the way the story was told that really hooked me into this game from beginning to end. To me it was quite an original gameplay, that was fun and didn't tire too much; and there was the classic Remedy attention to detail, from television and radio broadcasts, to a rich backstory, the things we found in their Max Payne games from yesteryear. I am not sure how it looks on 360, but on the pc this game looks fantastic as well, lighting just looks perfect, textures are sharp, and the game is well optimised.

3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007, Infinity Ward, 360/PS3/PC (main platforms))

While this is far from my favourite Call of Duty game, one thing is for sure: this game stood out more than a lot of games this generation. When Activision released Call of Duty 4, it really changed the way multiplayer in first person shooters was done from then on. In fact nearly every fps (first person shooter) since it's release has at least borrowed elements from this game, if not straight up copied it in the multiplayer part. The multiplayer used a simple yet addictive levelling and unlock system, as well as fast paced instant action multiplayer that meant players of all audiences just kept coming back, game after game.

4. Wii Sports (2006, Nintendo, Nintendo Wii)

While I completely dislike this game, I do have to admit how much of a stand out it is this generation. This is the game that really brought families together to play on the games console, even the Grans, which is a massive feat by itself! The game itself is merely a simple collection of 5 sports that are best played with friends, but it is what was bundled with the Wii and showed people what the Wii was really about, this became a system seller even at the start!

5. MAG (2010, Zipper Interactive, PS3)

I know I am likely to get a lot of comments for including this one, but hear me out: this game is a stand out this gen! What Zipper Interactive managed to do here was a real achievement, this game was a first person shooter, with up to 256 player matches. What makes this even more impressive is that all this was without a single bit of lag! Even on my fairly mediocre internet I had back in the day! This game did get a lot of hate, sure it wasn't the nicest looking game in the World, and the animations were clunky, but when you actually played the game, it was a great game, and Zipper Interactive did well with supporting the game for a few years with regular patches and DLC before the community sadly died out, with Zipper eventually following in 2012 (RIP).

 6. Portal (2007, Valve, 360/PS3/PC)

Portal really changed the game with 3D puzzle games. It introduced the Portal gun, a device capable of creating portals on nearly any surface, which created many many possiblities for creating Puzzles in. Not only was this game fun to play, it also had some positively challenging puzzles that really made you think. The sequel Portal 2 introduced somehow even more puzzle concepts improving in every way over the original.

7. Angry Birds (2009, Rovio, iOS/Android/PC)

I'll get this out in the open now: I hate this game. That being said it almost single handedly led the charge with cheap quick casual games on phones, especially the iPhone back in the day. The game took phone gaming by storm, and sold many many millions of copies at it's cheap price tag. The game in fact sold so many, that Rovio released quite a few more Angry Birds games that all played almost identically with a few minor mechanic additions here and there to fit the theme... sigh, I hate this game, but I guess good for Rovio for managing to create this gold mine.

8. Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Nintendo, Nintendo Wii)

How can I talk about stand out games without mentioning Super Mario Galaxy? This game was an incredible innovation on the Super Mario formula, adding new ways to play, and compelling mechanics when travelling between planets and galaxies. It also really attracted Nintendo's hardcore fanbase back to it's system, after going a while without any AAA games. This game sold millions and became one of the most critically acclaimed games out there, winning many awards.

9. Mass Effect 2 (2010, Bioware, 360/PC/PS3)

A sequel to the fairly highly acclaimed Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 improved in every way possible. With one of the most engrossing stories in games of this generation, and brilliant (yet admittedly limited) moral choices through the game; it really gained a hardcore following. While I would say the gameplay itself is pretty mediocre in terms of third person cover shooters (I'll say functional, it's fun, but does nothing new gameplay wise and doesn't do it as well as others out there), the story and story telling is what really attracted me and others to the game. There were also many quests to do on the side, secrets to find, and a very rich and engrossing game universe, full of races and creatures each with their own well thought out lore and World.

10. Uncharted 2 (2009, Naughty Dog, PS3)

To me this is one of the most amazing games this generation. If you are a gamer with a PS3, you must play this! Uncharted 2 is a very story focussed third person adventure game. Naughty Dog really created a master piece with this game: it grips from start to finish, has a really well thought out story [spoiler] admittedly with a mediocre ending, but not enough to ruin it [/spoiler] , and the visuals look fantastic and really show what the PS3 is capable of. Not only this, but the game is well polished, and is accompanied with a fairly good multiplayer section to get you a little more out of your money. This game won many game of the year awards and earned exceptional critical praise, and for very good reason!

That is 10/20 of my list of standout games for this gen. What are your thoughts on my first 10? What games stood out to you this generation? Comment below.

Continue to Part 2 (11-20)

Peace.

So after a long time waiting, Gran Turismo 6 was today announced at Silverstone in the UK, for a q4 2013 release on ps3. 

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am quite a GT (and Forza) fan, so this news has got me stoked, but it was the features of this title that got me really interested:

- while this is a PS3 title (personally I thought it would have made much more sense on the PS4 as a launch title, but whatever), it is boasting a new rendering engine, which should allow for some juicy looking visuals. Also confirmed is adaptive tessellation (isn't all tessellation adaptive, the idea being polys split and become more numerous and thus more detailed the closer you move to the object?). This should really help get more details into the cars and environments in GT.

- 1200 cars. Ok, I'll be honest, this grinds my gears a little. It would appear that Polyphony Digital are keeping the majority if not all the "Standard" cars used in GT5, which turned out to be around 800 cars that were little more than PS2 Upgrades. Still, I guess they can be easier ignored this time around, as there will be 200 new Premium cars to join the ever expanding selection of Premium cars. I am looking forward to seeing which cars will be now Premium, new and old. PD (Polyphony Digital) also announced there will be numerous DLC throughout GT6's life, so we can look forward to many more cars to come.

- Completely overhauled physics engine. This has me drooling. If you have played GT5, then you will know the physics in it were superb, and it was praiseds by critics as feeling positively realistic. This time, they have overhauled it, this time getting a professional tire company and professional suspension company to help design the physics for the game. 

- 19 New tracks! Yes 19. This will help the ever growing track list started by GT5. GT6 will retain all the tracks in GT5 as well, and again, PD will be supporting GT6 with many tracks dlc over it's life! 

- reworked UI and menu system. One of the largest complaints from critics at the launch of GT5 was the clunky and slow menu system. This time it is meant to be designed to be a lot faster, so you are always not long from racing!

More details can be found here

I am pretty hyped for GT6 myself, though I am ever cautious, hoping that PD will not overlook simple yet important decision or design aspects like they did for GT5. 

What are your thoughts? Are you hyped for GT6? Did PD make the right decision in making this for PS3? Do you think they will make this for PS4 too? Will this stand up against Forza?

Peace.

So today I went to my local Game store to test out the Playstation Vita, and I have to say I loved it. I played on Wipeout. The screen blew me away on that thing! But, I loved it so much I put in a pre-order for my own Vita, which will go happily side by side with my 3DS.

I will be doing a comparison between 3DS and Vita mark II once I have the Vita, so watch this space! Currently getting my Vita with an 8GB memory card, and Rayman, but will probably buy Wipeout, Uncharted, Escape Plan and Super Stardust not long into it's life. :)

Since e3, I have seen many threads and articles on the battle between the Nintendo 3DS and the Playstation Vita, and which is the superior console. Often the posts are very biased in one way or another, so I thought I would have a go at making my own blog on the matter, attempting to be as un-biased as possible. For my early impressions of the 2 handhelds, see my blog posts for the PS Vita here, and the 3DS here. Please note: I do not as of now own either consoles, this is purely based on speculation

I shall divide this into sections:

- price/value

- games

- hardware

I will then give each console a mark out of 5 for each section, and give a total out of 15 at the end.

Price/value

I shall start with the 3DS. This has been out a few months now, and where it was initially £230 here in the UK, it can now easily be found for £190, or even £200 in a bundle that includes The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake.This is still very expensive though to say Nintendo can make the 3DS units very cheaply (I believe I read somewhere it costs Nintendo about £18 per unit to manufacture, but I need to find the link, if anyone has heard this too, please comment).

The PS Vita however is a little more expensive. The Wifi only model is going to come out at £230, and the 3G and wifi model will come out around £280. The wifi model is going to be the same price that the 3DS launched at, but when it comes out the 3DS is still going to be cheaper. However in terms of value, it seems that Sony is really giving a good deal to gamers with this price tag, considering we all expected it to be more expensive.

So I find the 3DS to be a slightly better price, but the Vita to be a better value, both consoles are very expensive though

3DS price/value: 3/5

Vita price/value: 4/5

Games

As of now there are still few games for the 3DS. The Nintendo 3DS in my opinion launched with a horrible launch line up, with low scores nearly all around on critic websites, and a few bad ports to help flesh out the launch line up. The only games that really stood out in critics eyes was Street Fighter 4 and Nintendogs and Cats. However since e3, the library for the 3DS is really looking up. Only yesterday, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake launched for the 3DS, getting exceptionally high reviews all around, looking to be the "killer app" for the 3ds.

As of time of writing, it has got a score of 94/100 on metacritic, which is very impressive. Known to some as the greatest game of all time, The Ocarina of Time (OoT) really is the must have game for the 3DS and no doubt an early system seller.

As well as OoT though, Nintendo has announced some other nice games coming to the 3DS. Some of these being: Luigi's Mansion 2, Mario Kart 3DS, a Super Mario Game, and a Super Smash Brothers title. This has really improved the library available and soon to be available for the 3DS.

The PS Vita on the other hand is rather disappointing in terms of games when compared to the upcoming titles for the 3DS. The Vita is set to launch this fall, and currently has few games announced for it, though it does seem to be going more quality than quantity, as nearly all announced titles that I have seen videos for at the moment look good. Such games include:

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Wipeout 2048

and Sound Shapes

Little Big Planet

Modnation Racers, among others.

As nice games look to be for the Vita, the quality alone cannot currently match the quantity and quality of upcoming 3DS titles. This of course may change even before the Vita is released, as there are still 6 months to go, and so anything could happen. Having said this, neither platform has many decent games yet as they are both new, so thus neither will score high here.

3DS Games: 3/5

Vita Games: 2/5

Hardware

The 3DS has only been out for a couple of months if that and it is already clear that the system has a lot of potential and is a huge step up from the Nintendo DS. The graphics shown have been very impressive, and it seems the console will last a fair few years.

It thats not all, the 3DS is backwards compatable with Nintendo DS titles, and has an online multiplayer this time around. The 3DS however does still use "friend codes" which felt counter-intuitive on the Wii, so Im not quite sure why they have stayed.

The 3DS has a slide pad this time around to compliment the touch screen, allowing for more smooth control in games. I personally would have preferred 2 slide pads over one, since i feel a touch screen isnt a suitable replacement for a second slide pad in games like shooters, but its a design choice, and its not too bad.

The 3DS has much higher resolution screens this time around, allowing for more rich in detail games, and like the DSi, the 3DS has 2 cameras, one of which can take 3D photos (has 2 lenses), however both cameras on this are beyond shocking, and I havn't seen as bad a camera as these since my first camera phone, to but it bluntly.

Typical Sony s.tyle the Vita will be packed with a lot of power. Armed with a quad core processor and quad GPU (for full specs see my initial impressions of the NGP, link near top of page), the Vita is supposedly around twice as powerful as the iPad 2, which is no slouch. This is already clear with the alpha stage Uncharted: Golden Abyss footage I have seen, the graphics really do look like early ps3 games, which is an amazing accomplishment.

The Vita seems to also have all the bells and whistles, it will have a lot of connection functionality with the ps3, has full psn support, including trophies, wifi, Bluetooth, and 3G (on the 3G model at least). It also has 2 analog sticks (great for shooters, and action/adventure games), a front and rear touch screen, and 2 rear track pads, and some other gimmicks, along with a beautiful 5 inch OLED screen.

The Vita has ditched UMD discs in favour of a card format, which is unfortunately a proprietary one. The Vita is backwards compatable with downloaded PSP games, however all your UMD discs will be unusable which is a shame.

The 3DS has a lot of power and tech, but its clear Sony really has stuffed as much tecyh as they possibly can into this one, opening a lot of possibilities in both graphics and games.

3DS Hardware: 3/5

Vita Hardware: 4.5/5

Totals.

3DS Score: 9/15

PS Vita Score: 10.5/15

So in conclusion I find the PS Vita a slightly better console in my opinion. This is only slight though, and do take note i was being as critical on both consoles as I could be whilst keeping this blog fairly short!

To me it really does seem that Sony has learnt from their previous mistakes with the PSP and even any hardware. They have added a second analog stick, going to launch the machine at a competitive price, added more control functionality to allow more potential for developers, and they seem to be on track for having more support in the consoles life than its predeccessor.

Thats not to say the 3DS isn't good. Far from it, I am very likely to buy a 3DS as well as the Vita, as both handhelds offer me something slightly different. The 3DS is set to have some cracking games, that would be silly to miss out on!

I also feel the 3DS will sell a fair few more than the Vita this generation, however I am pretty certain it will be a much much more competitive fight from Sony this time around.

So what handheld console do you prefer? Have you/Will you buy the 3DS or Vita?

Comment below, have a nice day :)

So at long long last, the next PSP is announced, codenamed the NGP. It was shown off at the Playstation meeting on Thursday 27th January.

Looking similar to the first PSP, the NGP has 2 analog sticks, and a front touch screen, a rear touch pad, and 2 rear small track pads. Although no games were officially announced for the system, a few tech demos were shown, showing the amazing power of the system.

For instance, there was a playable section of a new Uncharted game developed for the NGP, and from what I have seen, the graphics look very close to the original Uncharted back on the PS3, which is a real technical feat on a handheld until now!

This demo showed of the new control schemes in place in the NGP, such as motion sensing, and also the front and rear touch screens, showing them to be responsive.

The NGP packs a 5 inch OLED screen (organic light emitting diode) which does not have a backlight, meaning power is saved.

The technical specs were also released at this conference for the system, which certainly show just how powerful this machine is going to be:

Yup, inside this monster is a quad core CPU and quad core GPU, which is supposedly on par with the NEXT iPad! The clock speeds are currently unreleased, and no one is sure what the "+" means in the GPU spec, but I'm sure we shall find out all in good time.

The NGP is going to be released "holiday 2011" in "at least one region", so this brings me to think it will be released in Japan late this year and other regions March ish 2012. Regardless of the long wait, I am pretty excited about this machine, and am hoping to hear a lot more information as time goes along.

The two questions on a lot of people's minds are these:

i) how long will the battery last?

ii) how much will this set me back?

i)Sony have said they are trying to get a similar amount of hours in th NGP to that of the PSP 3000, so that will be 5-6 hours.

ii) This machine is packing a lot of up to date hardware, so it is going to be expensive. Sony have said themselves they want this to be competitively priced though, although this dosen't really help. My prediction is that the NGP will be £260 in the UK and $300 for the basic model.

So this is a wrap up for this blog, I am very excited to hear more about this machine.

What are your thoughts on it? Put a comment below! :)

With the recent announcement of the Nintendo 3DS price, I noticed that once again, UK gamers have to pay much mch more than Americans; and I find it rather unfair, are we not paying for the same console? Do we have a superior console if we are paying more? No, of course not, and quite often it gets released in the UK after the US too, what gives?

Here is a few examples at various price points and comparisons to the US equivilent.

First starting with the launch of the ps3. It was famously launched at $599 in the US, which people called extortionate. Here in the UK it launched as £425, which is currently the equivilent of $676. However, back in 2006, £1 = $1.83. Meaning at launch, the ps3 cost to equivilent of $777.75. This is a full $178.75more expensive here in the UK than in the US! And they omplained of the launch price!

To further this point, the ps3 was later reduced to $299 in the US. This si when £1 = $1.64. Here in the UK, it was reduced down to £250, at the same time it was reduced to $299 in the US. £250 back then is equivilent of $410. This is a slight smaller difference, but still a good $111 difference between the price in the 2 countries! That is enough to buy 2 full priced games almost.

To keep this fairly short I will now jump to the Nintendo 3DS. Recently announced, the price point in the US will be: $250, while here in the UK, the price is £230. Going by the current exchange rate of £1 = $1.59, us UK gamers have to pay the equivilent of $365.70! A massive $115.70 difference!

I understandably find it rather annoying then, when many gamers from America on these forums complain about the prices of these machines. In future, think of us UK gamers first!!! Rant over!

Haha And what a birthday it shall be - with the release of Gran Turismo 5! Its going to be a good day :)

I have always liked seeing a new generation of handheld consoles, starting with the gameboy advance. When this was released I bought it only a few months in; and I loved it. Naturally, when the DS was announced a few years ago, I was again furiously excited. I preordered the DS and spent hours and hours looking at pictures of the DS in magazines, dreaming on the moment I would get mine; where I could start to play games of equal graphics to a Nintendo 64 (yeah sad I know). And then the day came when my DS arrived, along with Super Mario 64, Asphault Urban GT and the demo: Metroid Prime Hunters First Hunt. I have to say I loved it, everything about it. The graphics, the 2 screens, the amazingly accurate touch screen, the portability, just, everything about it I found perfect.

Unfortunately though, times changed. With the release of the next generation of home consoles, I became a lot more interested in graphics. And I found DS games were going very much downhill unfortunately. It started out great, I bought Mario Kart, Metroid Prime Hunters, Pokemon Pearl, and a few other quality titles such as Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.But then that is where IMO the games just went downhill. Nintendo released more and more gimicky games for the system, that used the touch screen more and the power of the system less. I started to really dislike new titles appearing for the Nintendo DS, such as Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, My Sims.

I still played the console for the few decent games that I owned, but then my DS broke, and I was left without a handheld. At this point I decided I would not get another DS, since I was noticing the Sony PSP more and more. The games seemed to appeal much more to me, with titles such as God of War, Gran Turismo, Socom, Patapon, Medal of Honor and also Resistance Retribution. So it didn't take me long to decide I would buy a PSP, and to this day I have the PSP 3000, which I have got many hours of enjoyment out of, with graphics well beyond those of the Nintendo DS. I love the PSP, but I do admit, I miss some of Nintendos characters, like Donkey Kong, Pokemon, and of course I missed Mario Kart.

That is why when a Nintendo 3DS was announceda few months ago, I got a bit interested. Not a lot, especially since Nintendo now have a track record for releasing less powerful systems usually with a gimmicky (IMO) selling point. This is why I was expecting an ever so slightly more powerful DS just with the 3D.

Nevertheless, I watched Nintendo's E3 press conference live on the internet because I was interested in the direction that the 3DS was taking. Quite frankly, the first half of Nintendo's conference completely bored me; yet another Zelda game, yet another Metroid game, blah blah; I could have fallen asleep.

But then the 3DS was shown, and my interest immediately picked up. I will admit, the console showing of the system at the conference put me off massively. After all, it was just a Nintendo DS with a slightly larger top 3D screen, a gimicky 3D camera, and a slide pad. Sure, they bragged that it had more graphical power, but he didn't show much of what it could do; they just showed an advert which didn't really say a lot about the system other than it has a 3D screen and it is made by Nintendo.

So i was rather underwhelmed by the 3DS. That is until I saw a forum post right here on Gamespot, titled something like: "Wow, see these 3DS graphics". I thought I might as well have a peek at this point, but I wasn't expecting a lot. But boy was I amazed. Especially with Metal Gear Solid. My jaw almost hit the floor when I saw these shots:

There are many more shots if you find them. Since then though, my thoughts on the Nintendo 3DS have increased dramatically. The Metal Gear Solid game, even before the system is released looks better than MGS Peace Walker on the PSP; so with a couple of years where developers have a chance to get used to the hardware; I am sure the graphics will improve a fair bit, increasing the graphics lead over the PSP. Sure, I still find 3D in this way largely a gimmick, but with a Metal Gear Solid game that looks like that, and with so many decent games already confirmed, whats not to like about this system?

Well, maybe there will be a few things. Firstly, Nintendo did not at all mention any price point for the 3DS, which leads me on to believe that this may be rather an expensive handheld. I am predicting with the technology included, we are looking at a £200 handheld console.

The price on its own though is worth paying so long as the games are that go with the platform. There is already a large list of titles confirmed coming out at some point for the 3DS, including a remake of Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Mario Kart, Metal Gear Solid, and an assassins creed game. And we can be certain there will be a Pokemon game or 6 coming out for the 3DS in its lifetime too... but, this is still Nintendo. Call me prejudice, but I think that the 3D screen will just be yet another excuse for shovelware games like those found on the DS. I believe those titles I mentioned are likely to be the ONLY decent titles available for the 3DS for a long time in my opinion.

So now I am very much on the fence about this system, and I need your opinions on it, what do you lot think about the 3DS? I think on the one hand it has great graphics, it looks a solid improvement over the DS and the PSP, but on the other hand... what about a PSP2? Would a PSP2 announcement bring along a huge leap in handheld power?

What are all your thoughts on the 3DS? Tell us here!

PS: All this writing is simply my own opinion, please do not take any offense from any part, have a nice day :D