Professor Layton and The Rip-Off Village

Above is a picture of a Stickie on my work Mac. I add games to it; forgotten classics, up-to-date titles and suggestions from blogs and friends.
I’ve been eyeing up one of them, Professor Layton on DS, for ages but thought I would wait for the UK release. I’m happy to pay £25-£30 for a good DS game, like Phantom Hourglass. There’s no way I’m forking out nearly £60, Mr. Amazon. I’ll be looking elsewhere me thinks! It just reminds me of the days when Street Fighter II came out and Mean Machines advertised it for over £100.

Late to the party

I never jumped on the Gears of War bandwagon when it rolled into town two years ago. Back then I was convinced I was going to get a Wii, until my mates went all 360 on me and Wii at launch didn't exactly inspire a hardcore gamer did it? Wii Sports was good for a laugh with the missus, though Zelda: Twilight Princess still evades me to this day. I'll be getting a Wii then. *adds to Amazon wishlist*
So it was with the launch of Gears 2 the other day that I picked up the original for £8. I was planning to play co-op with a fellow n00b, but I've been dumped in favour of Mass Effect, so it's single-player Hammer of Dawn for me.
Using scenery for cover has been talked about for months, so I won't go into that here, except to say that it's great to see a game hang on this premise. Monsters are quality B-movie behemoths though I'm sure I saw something similar in Armorines.
I'm not loving it though. Maybe I need to get my head down and stop ducking out for a game of FIFA 09, which is the best version I've seen in a decade.
The jury is still out on the new avatars. Yes, it's too much like the Wii, but I've got a monobrow so it scores well so far. Check me out next time you're on - Tiny1976 is the name.

Thank you Radio 4

You can thank the Today programme for why I’m back here blogging. An interview on the BBC Radio 4 claimed that blogging was dead, that Twitter was the new blog. Is my blog dead? Well, I don't know how many people read it, but this is my space to talk about my view of console games past and present. Let's get on with the show. And if you're on Twitter, come follow me - t1mstreet
What have I been up to since the last time I posted? Well, I've hardly played my 360 due to family/work/DVD/book commitments. In fact I haven't been on since I gave the latest Madden's a go (loved it, thank you Mr EA). My missus is out on Friday night so I'll finally be back on. World At War is coming soon, so I'll try to finish Modern Warfare. I won't be distracted until that's done. Then I'll be scouring eBay for a cheap Gears of War. Yes, I know it's two years old now but after getting an email from Microsoft about the sequel, I shall be checking this classic out.
So, what else have I been up to? Elite Beat Agents on DS was bought for a tenner, but is still in its wrapper; my son is teething badly and keeping me awake at night; the Book Thief is excellent; The Assassination Of Jesse James is highly recommended, and the first western I’ve ever seen, outside Bonanza; I need to get into Fringe; and I'm wondering if I'll ever buy another games magazine again after the £6 I paid for the official Xbox mag the other week, more for the Indy demo than anything.

PES takes the Champions League

Major news this morning for football fans is that the new Pro Evo will now feature the Champions League, a deal Konami has struck with UEFA for the next four years.
The 2009 edition is gonna have the Champo League mode included within it, which I guess spells the end for EA's Champions League game? More on that when it appears. Check out Barcelona's Lionel Messi after the jump.
I also noticed over at DS Fanboy that PictoChat (the free built in text and image messenger that's been built into the DS) will now be used for something other than sending knob gags to your mates, if you're into that kind of thing. Sega are launching Phantasy Star Online with this built in chat function, just like the symbol creator that used to be on the Dreamcast original. Nice one, Sega!

How much?!

Yesterday was a good day. EA fixed my colleagues and I up with a copy of the new Tiger Woods (comments coming your way over the next few days), then a little voice told me at lunchtime that Morrisons supermarket here in the UK are selling the latest 360, PS3 and DS games for £25. That's NEW RELEASES people. Not copies of Halo 3 in the bargain bin, but new stuff like Mercenaries 2.
Suddenly Morrisons are my new favourite supermarket. For those of you who care I use Tesco online delivery as I have a baby to look after and don't have the time to get trolley rage on a Saturday afternoon in Peterborough. I'd rather be out in the fresh air having fun with my family, thank you very much.
Sorry, I digress. Morrisons have done a wonderful, wonderful thing doing this with the latest releases. I don't think even play.com can compete. But can they sustain it. Will they be doing the same when Banjo-Kazooie and Gears of War 2 rock up in time for Christmas? We'll have to wait and see. But if everyone follows suit then that can only be a good thing for the consumer.

On your marks, get set…

Today sees the start of the Olympics in Beijing. I don't know what the official game of The Games is like, but it's probably not a great leap from Track and Field and Hyper Sports back in the early '80s, and not as fun as them either, if Metacritic is anything to go by.
I remember first setting eyes on Track and Field during a summer camping holiday in Cornwall in 1984. There was this bloke busting a sweat on the hurdles, and he was ace. Every holiday after that we HAD to find Track and Field to have a go. My mum even managed to do the long jump down in Weston-Super-Mare. The day when I found a Track and Field arcade cabinet with a joystick in Southend's Pier Hill was heaven. Now I could get world record attempts every time. If you go anywhere near Hunstanton, near King's Lynn, you'll find Track and Field for 20p in one of the very few arcades left on the seafront.
An old blog mentioned the Amstrad version of Track and Field. Well, I've found screenshots. And if anyone gets turned on by magazines (not that variety!) check out the latest cover of Retro Gamer. Pretty.

Hey, listen!

Want to see a funny spoof of The Legend of Zelda? Check out The Legend of Neil…

Who ya gonna call?

My 360 is gonna wonder what hits it when I switch it on tomorrow night. It's been about two months since I've had a go as I've been putting together a book for Bauer Media, my employer, where I work. This book, for MATCH magazine, has been a real labour of love for me and the team who produced it. I've not had much sleep over the last few weeks, but I don't care. I'm proud to have put my name to it, and I hope lots of people buy it.
So then, back on the 360 for some target practice tomorrow night. The gamertag is Tiny1976 by the way, so if you're reading this and want to get online then drop me a friend request.
Looking around a few gaming websites I noticed that the Ghostbusters game is coming out next year. How good can zapping a few ghosts and razzing around town be? If it's anything like it was on the Amstrad then I'm in. Just don't give me the hour-long loading screen that the CPC version had.

STOP PRESS: Get online at Typeracer…

Game threads

I was online last night, wondering whether to splash out on another gaming T-shirt. I'd love to wear them at work, but I'll get brandished a 'geek', by those who've finished GTA when I haven't. HA.
Anyway I spotted these 1942 T-shirts over at Meatbun, which are ace but seeing as you have to get them shipped from the USA it costs slightly over $50. Hmm, think again geek.
So I jumped on videogametees.com and noticed they're asked for people to describe or design gaming T-shirts for them. I can't design, but I've sent my suggestion. Come on people, get involved.

E FREE

Hideous as this may sound, I've not picked up a game for about a month. My 360 coughs under the weight of dust and my DS lies forlorn in the drawer under my TV. I've not been a good dad. Sorry guys.
It's not that I don't want to play games. Far from it. I've just not had any time to play games. My day job at Bauer Consumer Media of running the MATCH website has kept me busy, while my bosses have given me extra responsibility with MATCH's books and specials publications, which I hasten to add I'm loving. This has meant I'm working most nights once my little man is in bed, so that's why my 360 hasn't been turned on for weeks.
But I have been keeping up with all things gaming while I've been relentlessly busy. I laughed at this Wii Fat tee, tried out the new Double Dragon arcade machine where I work (FREE CREDITS!) and remembered just how button-mashing it really was, and also checked out the E3 rumour mill.
Ah, E3. Happy memories of tired feet, hangovers, Cali girls and the jamboree that was the Nintendo press conference. I did five E3 shows while I was on Nintendo Official Magazine. In my first year Nintendo unveiled Pikmin as their big title. Other years I played the DS for the first time, sampled Mario Kart: Double Dash, F-Zero GX, Resi 4, the PSP, Animal Crossing, Pokémon after Pokémon, but my favourite of all was when they showed Twilight Princess for the first time. 2004, if memory serves me right. My colleagues and I were going apeshit. A term I don't use too often, as readers who come down my way will testify, but it was like manna from heaven seeing Link ride out and hack and slash his way across the giant screens. The place was going mental. And I mean MENTAL. When the lights came up no one could believe it.
E3 was a relentlessly busy experience and one year, 2003 I think, we stayed in the middle of the ghetto. Oh, and I got so blasted on Long Island Iced Teas one night that I woke up, over an hour late for my interview with Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. It was a day from hell as the din of hundreds of consoles made me want to curl up and die.
But that year I got a very special treat as EA took us on from LA to San Francisco for a few more days. Lord of the Rings, Tiger Woods and more were demoed to us in EA's giant Redwood Studios monster-of-a-building.
But that's not the best games press trip ever. That was with Ubisoft to see their F1 game in Montreal. That included getting lost on skidoos in the Canadian mountains around the time Blair Witch came out. That wasn't scary at all!

Last published April 28…

… so by my reckoning that's nearly a month. Not good if you want to be seen as a blog with a talking point. Blame the trawl for a GTA, and then not enough time to put the damn thing on.
The week of launch I thought I'd just bowl down my nearest Gamestation and get it. Wrong idea, buddy. Eight shops in one lunch hour and not one of them had it. One online order with Game later and it was with me within a week, but parental commitments meant I couldn't play it for about a week. Yeah, tell me about it.
So far I've played the darts, a spot of pool, bought clothes, fired a gun, stun punched, heard Queen, tasted Hot Coffee, bowled, been barked at by Americans online about how my country's only about 'the Queen and David Beckham', admired the poor sound quality of GTA IV, taken the train, failed to master the handbrake turn and not got enough of it. Yet.
The sheer size of the beast is going to be enough to keep me coming back for months. Call of Duty 4's sitting their, having just dropped a grenade to nail me when I go to put it on next. I'll be back, soldier, I'll be back.
Elsewhere in my gaming world, The Phantom Hourglass has had a short blast and I've been scouring eBay for some gems. Quite why, I don't know. It's the complete collectivist in me, if there is such a phrase.
With the arrival of the creaky-joints-but-still-new Indy, my mind cast me back the other day to LucasArts' Fate of Atlantis game on Amiga. The ones with the password wheel. Or was that The Secret of Monkey Island 2?
I remembered fondly jetting around continents, chatting to some bloke outside a pyramid, or outside this door to a house somewhere in Spain, I think. Memories on a postcard, please…
If anyone is reading this, what do you think about GTA? And what's on your gaming list at the moment?
P.S. Blame Arrested Development for my lack of action in Liberty City.

You're fired!

If only thhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gife designer of the Okami Wii packshot was in The Apprentice. He wouldn't have lasted long. Using a piece of IGN artwork WITH THE WATERMARK STILL ON IT as the main image AND THEN LETTING IT GO TO PRESS is a disaster. Check it out over at GameLife.
Back on the blog after a few days and there's loads to tell you. I finally managed to get some hours on Call of Duty 4 single-player. I can't get past the missile silo level. In fact I can't even get in the missile silo compound. I'm getting nailed. At the entrance. Back to the drawing board on that one. Or GameFAQs. Ha.
Played one of the new record-breaking Call of Duty download maps on Friday night - the TV station one. What a map! Bloody big though…
Last night I grabbed a best-of-three on Pro Evo 6 against a mate. Despite only being about 18 months old it looks awful, when compared to the new one, though at least there's no lag when you play it online.
I've also been back on eBay hunting down some classic games. I almost bid on a SNES copy of Chrono Trigger which was going for over 100 notes. Then I came to my senses and remembered I have a baby son to provide for.
Being a gaming dad I've now got a big dilemma to overcome, and that's whether to blow money on GTA IV. I've hardly had time to play CoD4, but it's like Rockstar are tantalising me with their new ad. The guy is staring at me saying: 'You need to buy me'. Quite how I will get the time to play this, I don't know. I might wait awhile. Christ, I've even got Orange Box, Lego Star Wars and Ghost Recon 2 upstairs to nail yet. A friend of mine said: "It's one of those games you can have a blast on for ten minutes." I wish I HAD ten minutes spare when it's not taken up with work, looking after my son, catching up on good TV and reading the new awesome Empire with their ace cover.

TV Times

For once I'm not going to rant about games. It's time to rant about that box-in-the-corner. Hello TV, nice to see you again. Reasons being? I've just seen Empire's Top 50 TV shows of all-time.
Now, I won't spoil the No.1 for you, but quite how Empire can rate the likes of ER, Family Guy, 24 and even the classic Quantum Leap below Buffy The Vampire Slayer is beyond me.
It gets some things right, and I'm heading off to my living room for some Family Guy viewing in a sec instead of the virgin viewing of Carlito's Way that I had in mind. But there are so many great programmes that didn't get a sniff – The Day Today, This Life, to name a few that have just popped into my head.
Have a guess on the No.1. You probably know what it is already. It's not Thundercats by the way.

PLEASE, SHUT UP.

I haven't got much time to post today, except that I heard the giant price Rock Band is coming out at here in the UK.
But anyway, I remember shelling out £60 notes for some import stuff in years past. And that's when games were rock hard to get on import!
Last night my baby boy woke up crying every hour from 3am until 6.15, the time he normally wakes up regardless of whether the calendar says 'Saturday' or 'Sunday'. It reminded me of Baby Mario in Yoshi's Island. If you've never played this gem, please hunt down a copy now. For those of you who do, reminisce some more with GameTrailers' top ten SNES titles ever. The voiceover at the end of Yoshi's Island is hilarious.

Rebirth of a classic

As much as I'd love to say that Nintendo Official Magazine is going to return to its roots with the guys I worked with, I'd be lying. As much as myself and an old colleague would love to do it, it's just a daydream that will probably never happen.
But what I do know is that Computer and Video Games magazine, CVG for short, is returning to newsagents later this month. The first issue, dedicated to the Grand Theft Auto series, will cost a fiver and is brought to you by Future. Is Yob going to do the letters pages? Hope so.
In my land of gaming, Call of Duty 4 took a back seat last night as Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy got some playtime. I'm not a massive Star Wars fan, but had heard a lot about its tongue-in-cheek humour. So far I'm having a great time, slicing up Lego Stormtroopers with a lightsaber and using The Force to overcome some particularly difficult puzzles, even for a thirtysomething like me.
There are now some quality new Tees over at http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif. Check out the Hotty Tee!
Outside gaming, I've been sucked into the fantasy world of Amelia Maylock, written by an old schoolmate called Jason Ellis. Empire Magazine is still keeping me enthralled with their Indiana Jones coverage, as has this book about pop bible, Smash Hits.
Other than that, my world is taken up by my 11-month-old son, Harry. Please post any fatherhood blogs you might be know about…

I Am 8-Bit

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifWhile my wife comforts our teething, snotty 10-and-a-half month old, I'm taking refuge in the living room. I'm not getting away from the crying though - the baby monitor is in full voice, booming out the screaming to FULL RED OVERDRIVE. It's a horrible situation to be in.
While I sit here, I'm looking across at pictures on our walls. Framed newborn baby pics, wedding day, mates on the lash, etc. Upstairs there's some from IKEA - the usual downtown Manhattan, deserted beach scene and so forth. But what I really need to get my hands on is some I Am 8 Bit art. This stuff should be on any true gamer's den. I remembering an old colleague running a feature on this in NOM a few years back, based on their annual art exhibition. The paintings on show are classic. Let Google images show you some treats.
Snapping back out of dreamworld, Harry is still crying. Back in dreamworld and I'm sniping enemy in Call of Duty 4 and wondering whether I should pre-order GTA IV. This is the next triple-A title I should probably get for my 360. Hell, I hardly have time to play the ones I do have. But this woman makes it too enticing. I'm off to GAME to pre-order any day now and get me those Xbox Live points, or indeed some of these ace Kubricks.

Up on the roof

I love my loft. The ladder's a pain in the arse to get down at times and the hatch has this really annoying catch that never locks properly, but inside nests some classic videogames from the last 20 years or so.
Going up there the other day to fish out some dodgy photos of my baby brother for his 30th birthday party, I rooted through the dusty boxes and found some right gems, memorabilia and other such tat, including:

Super Smash Bros.
I've never been a huge fan of the franchise but I can see why fans go nuts for beating up Mario, Pikachu, Donkey Kong, etc. It finally sorts out the argument as to which Nintendo character is the greatest and I'm sure the new Brawl version is gonna rule on Wii. And this box is signed by one Shigeru Miyamoto. Pzzzack!

Perfect Dark
I remember busting my hump Easter Weekend 2000 to write the review for Rare's GoldenEye 007 follow-up (97%, for the record). I remember giving away my copy to some kid way back when, so bought this version on eBay a few years ago. I've never had the heart to play it, maybe because it brings back too many memories of that weekend.

Banjo-Kazooie
For me, one of the greatest games ever, made when Rare could do no wrong. The Christmas level was sheer class, though I never did make it to that board-game-quiz at the end of the game.

Just three highlights of what's in my loft, but I'll be going back up there soon so will dig out some games and get pictures on here. Right now though it's Tuesday Night Club on the 360 so there's some shooting to be had on Call of Duty 4. While I'm playing that I'll be making a mental note of what retro classics I'll be buying on eBay. So far I've got:

James Bond (Game Boy)
Revenge of the Gator (Game Boy)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (360)
Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64)
Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages (Game Boy Color)

Oh, and here's a link to Dan's site. He's been making some good posts and his blog is eye-opening.

The new Friday…

… is Tuesday. Xbox night if you must know. Me, some mates, my brother, all on Call of Duty. Leave a message if you want to join the fun. Clips at the ready from 8.30pm (GMT).
Over the last week I've been contacted by two old friends of mine on Facebook. One works at Nintendo of Europe who I last saw at the Europeans Nintendo DS launch at a hotel in Paris, another edits Game Life over at Wired. The latter, a well-known games journalist called Chris Kohler, posted a funny TV show on YouTube. Watch it, I think you might like it.
Back on the home front, Zelda and CoD4 are taking up my playing hours. The Rise of the Machines, also known as 14-year-old Americans, blowing me to dust on COD4 is really starting to get on my tits so I've opted for more Private Matches, even if you don't get the XP to increase your level.
Zelda is everything I hoped it would be. The boomerang is quality on the DS as you draw the arc you want it to take around dungeons, while blowing on the screen extinguishes candles to unlock doors. It's clever touches like this that really make me love my DS again.
But one game you've GOT to try is N+, one of those Flash games that's been made into an Xbox Arcade title. I took apart the demo last night and it's mint, using inertia and timing to guide your ninja through trap filled rooms to a switch that unlocks an exit door. So simple, yet already one of my games of the year. I'm serious. Get those Points and get this!

Hey, listen!

I've not actually picked up an Xbox controller for over a week. Not because I'm bored with it, but because of a little guy in a green suit. I bought The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for my Nintendo DS.
Now, my DS hasn't seen the light of day for a year or more. It's not one of those Lite versions, I'm still admiring the touch screen on my original DS thank you very much. Heavier (yes), buttons a little cramped (yes), earlier chance of obtaining RSI (yes), but the DS is still a dream machine.
I've seen the ads for Brain Training and Animal Crossing, but what I've been saving for is classic Nintendo, and so far I've got it in shovelfuls.
The music's there, the little jingle when doors open, the fiendish puzzles, the basic sword training from the old guy in the village. It's all here. They've added in touch screen skills, so you can now write notes on your map so you remember those forgotten clues and stab, slice and spin the stylus on the screen to watch Link perform his trademark attack. Hiiiyar!
But what do I find most intriguing of all? The fact that ever since I first picked up A Link To the Past from Dixons at Lakeside (instead of UN Squadron, I'll let you know!) I've always called my character 'Link'. Not 'Tim'. It's always Link. Always will be. More on PH as I play through…
In other developments I've asked the Facilities Manager where I work if I can get hold of the Nintendo magazine archive. It's currently sitting in some damp corner of an archiving warehouse, probably feeling unloved. I thought it would be ace to scan a few pages and add them to my blog. Cue anecdotal annotations…
I also see that Nintendo has announced the forthcoming Wii version release of Mario Kart, now with bikes. With bikes. WITH BIKES. This is Mario KART. Quite frankly, they'll never match the original in my opinion. But by god I need a Wii for this. A mate of mine at work says it's mint.

Hey, listen!

I've not actually picked up an Xbox controller for over a week. Not because I'm bored with it, but because of a little guy in a green suit. I bought The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for my Nintendo DS.
Now, my DS hasn't seen the light of day for a year or more. It's not one of those Lite versions, I'm still admiring the touch screen on my original DS thank you very much. Heavier (yes), buttons a little cramped (yes), earlier chance of obtaining RSI (yes), but the DS is still a dream machine.
I've seen the ads for Brain Training and Animal Crossing, but what I've been saving for is classic Nintendo, and so far I've got it in shovelfuls.
The music's there, the little jingle when doors open, the fiendish puzzles, the basic sword training from the old guy in the village. It's all here. They've added in touch screen skills, so you can now write notes on your map so you remember those forgotten clues and stab, slice and spin the stylus on the screen to watch Link perform his trademark attack. Hiiiyar!
But what do I find most intriguing of all? The face that ever since I first picked up A Link To the Past from Dixons at Lakeside (instead of UN Squadron, I'll let you know!) I've always called my character 'Link'. Not 'Tim'. It's always Link. Always will be. More on PH as I play through…
In other developments I've asked the Facilities Manager where I work if I can get hold of the Nintendo magazine archive. It's currently sitting in some damp corner of an archiving warehouse, probably feeling unloved. I thought it would be ace to scan a few pages and add them to my blog.