Tsk tsk Capcom

Apparently the Wii port of Ōkami had the credits cut from the version, and this has been confirmed by Capcom themselves. The reason? Some legal issues regarding the usage of the now dissolved Clover Studio logo. Which to me seems to be a none issue, other than the fact that Capcom is being lazy yet again. Ōkami's credit sequence is one of the most beautiful that I've ever had the honour to sit through and is integral to the experience of the game, so to found out that the credit film (and epilogue) has been cut out from an allegedly shoddy Wii port and not been replaced, saddens me. The very fact that Capcom did not bother to transcribe the names of the people who originally made Ōkami and put them into a new credit sequence is, as Ōkami's director Hideki Kamiya puts it, utterly deplorable. For shame Capcom, you can even get the list for free from MobyGames.

Here's the low quality YouTube video of the credit for you to enjoy, with Ayaka Hirahara's Reset. After watching it go buy and play the definitive PS2 version of Ōkami - one of the finest games ever created. I hope Capcom does the decent thing and include the credits with the Wii EU release.

Buy Okami (not an ad by Capcom, serious)

Now that the Wii port of Okami has been released in the US, there really is no more excuse not to play this especially if you are a hardcore Nintendo fanboy who's never owned a PS2. Obviously my suggestion is to get the original made by Clover Studio version (shakes fist at Capcom). Especially since impressions of the Ready at Dawn port indicates that waggle control does not suit the game much and that despite progressive and widescreen support, some of the special effects were absent (paper filter for example is almost missing). But hey, whatever rocks your boat. Just go play the game. Then buy Beyond Good & Evil (please Michel Ancel, no more ruined classic IPs by Peter Jackson) and Psychonauts and ICO.

Pre-order the Wii version here. And yes I will repost this again when the PAL version arrives. This is better than Twilight Princess, and therefore deserves more hype.

Miles Edgeworth to star in spin-off title

Miles Edgeworth the prosecutor extraordinary of the Gyakuten Saiban series, is finally getting his own spin-off game. About time! Gyakuten Kenji (codenamed as New Gyakuten, Not Saiban)will apparently be a law adventure game and so far the two main characters confirmed are Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe. Gumshoe as our bumbling sidekick? Even more awesome. The game will feature a sprite-based third person gameplay with a new point & click search and deduction system.

(spoilers for GS3-less Europeans - just import the damn game)

That is great news. Ever since we were given the chance to play as Edgeworth in GS3, I have been itching for Capcom to create a game that solely revolves around him.

(spoiler ends)

Hell, back when I first played the first Ace Attorney I've already started hoping for an Edgeworth spin-off. Now if only Capcom get of their arses and confirm Franziska von Karma and Godot's own spin-offs. Especially von Karma. Because playing as a hot prosecutor with her own whip is made of win.

via GAF

Updated with scans!

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney review

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban 4), is the fourth in the Gyakuten Saiban/Ace Attorney series of point and click adventure/graphic novel games. This is also the first game in the series to be developed from the ground-up for the Nintendo DS (previous games were released on the Game Boy Advance platform before being ported to the DS), and is also the first game without Phoenix Wright (Ryuichi Naruhodo) as the main protagonist (a reboot of sort). This review may contain some spoilers (but nothing major - I swear!).

This time around the story centres around a set of new heroes - rookie defence lawyer Apollo Justice, whose first case came to a rather sticky end despite winning the case, and Trucy a 15 year old magician in training. Rest assured, despite this you will be meeting some old friends such as Phoenix Wright himself. There is a total of four cases available, each growing in both length and ridiculousness as the story progresses - and as expected ties together rather nicely through the end. The first case also happens to be a tutorial case (though you can skip the tutorial bits if you wish), where you defend the legendary Phoenix Wright himself, though its importance is far greater than the first two games first cases. New gameplay mechanisms are introduced slowly throughout the four cases.

The new storyline requires some getting used to. For GS veterans who has played the previous three games, it may be hard to play a game that does not feature Maya Fey, Miles Edgeworth and the many other main characters whom we have grown up to enjoy our pixelated company with. At times it seemed that the charm of the previous games has been lost. Phoenix for example, is portrayed here as a little bit more cynical with the legal system, and whose character has undergone much personality change since the explosive final events of Gyakuten Saiban 3/Trials & Tribulation. In fact Pheonix's determination to keep his past seven years as vague as possible proves to be an appealing centrepiece in Apollo Justice as his secrets unravel near the end which provides a Fight Club level of twist. Case 4 is almost nearly as epic as GS3-5.

Visually the game has undergone significant changes. While the UI remains the same, Capcom has redrawn most of the sprites completely, no thanks to new set of characters as well as time period. Despite that the art style remained the same. Background environments however receive the bulk of the changes, with what looks like pre-rendered 3D environments. It is certainly cleaner, though I have to admit I do not really like the new "glossier" look. The game also features FMV sequences as well as polygonal renders for recreating crime scenes. And like the bonus chapter of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, most evidence under the court records can now be examined in more detail. The soundtrack has been updated with new themes for the new characters. Sound plays a very important part, at least in one case, so this isn't a deft friendly title.

Gameplay in Apollo Justice remains more or less unchanged. There are a couple of new gameplay mechanism designed to take advantage of the DS's hardware. Some of you may remember the bonus fifth case from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney remake. Well that served as a 'testing ground' for some of the new gameplay. For example we see the return of fingerprint dusting where one taps the screen to spread white powder around a fingerprint and then blowing at the DS microphone to reveal the fingerprint. One example of a new forensic technique is creating a footprint cast and trying to match it with the shoes of the witnesses and/or perpetrator.

It wouldn't be an Ace Attorney game if it didn't involve some supernatural gimmick. In Gyakuten Saiban 2, Psyche-Lock was introduced as means to suppress mental barriers created by unhelpful witnesses during the investigation part of the game. In Apollo Justice the protagonist, through his mysterious bracelet, has a talent of being able to concentrate on a witness and study their behaviour. This allows Apollo to expose their nervousness through their body language. The new gameplay is known as the Perceive System, which requires the usage of the touchscreen to zoom in on the witness while he or she is testifying. Speaking of touchscreen, I am glad that for the majority of the game is playable via the hardware buttons.

The localisation was handled by one Alexander O. Smith, a veteran in translating such fine Japanese games like Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story, as well as the first Ace Attorney game. Thankfully like the first three localisation, any Japanese cultural reference were redone to match the different humour enjoyed in the west. However I did find some of the puns to be very terribly predictable, and dare I say it, bland. Despite that the quality of the writing is equally on par with the first three games (yes! I loved the localisation of GS2 and GS3 despite the many spelling errors - the writing was remarkable) and the dialogues are humorous as before.

Apollo Justice is actually easier than the previous games, and I meant that as a compliment. In the past a small portion of the testimony contradictions and puzzles weren't as obvious and requires the use of time wasting process of elimination. Here the evidence in your disposal is significantly less than in past cases (for example case 5 of Phoenix Wright remake), and most contradictions are very obvious that presenting evidence is a doodle. Some may view this is as detrimental to the gameplay but in a genre like this the story matters much more than the gameplay - at least that is what I believe.

If you are an ardent fan of the series, I am sure you are already playing this, or at least planning to. If you haven't played any, there is no better time to start now that all four games already localised into English. Apollo Justice may be too formulaic, but the story is still refreshing enough to please both newcomers and series veterans. One final thing: while it isn't a requirement to play the first three games to enjoy Apollo Justice, some of the back story would be better explained if you actually played the first three games.

8/10

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, GS1, GS2 and GS3 are all available on Play-Asia, and Amazon UK.

Handheld heaven week

This week sees the EU release of Patapon and North America's release of Gyakuten Saiban 4's English translated version Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice. The EU release of GS4 is in April, a month after GS3 hits here, so make sure to order from your favourite online import store if you want to play it before everyone else (outside Japan). And don't forget to download the Patapon demo to get the Spear of Protection weapon first.

Resident Evil 4: Wii edition review

One of the biggest issues with playing 3D shooters on consoles are the ridiculously difficult controls. This is especially true for someone like me who was institutionalised with KB+Mouse combo since Doom was installed on our 486. Gamepads are the reason I did not like Goldeneye on N64 (despite its a-okay split-screen multiplayer); and is a reason why I always hoped that Capcom would release a decent Resident Evil 4 port on PC. Because while I liked the GameCube version enough, despite its obvious controller problems; I was sure I would love a PC version with mouse support even more.

Well they did finally release a PC port earlier this year, but like the typical anti computer gaming they are, Capcom (or at least the third party who did the porting) did not code in mouse support. Selling a PC game with no mouse support is like shipping a TV with no remote (trust me I know something about operating a TV without a remote because we lost the remote to our TV a long time ago - it is a chore) or a phone without buttons.

So when Capcom announced that they will be releasing yet another port, I cringed. Then I mourned for Shinji Mikami's headless corpse over how Capcom's execs defiled their GOD (Mikami, not the mythical ones). Later someone pointed out that this latest port would be for the Wii. My hopes raised. Capcom noted that Resident Evil 4: Wii edition would have the same code as the GameCube version but with support for progressive scan and 16:9 widescreen (but it does suffer from black lines on the side - so it isn't true 16:9) rather than the letterbox format on the GameCube version. It also contains previous PS2 exclusives such as Ada Wong's Separate Ways and other bonuses. But the real reason to get this new money spinner is Capcom has finally brought almost mouse-like precision to Mikami's finest through the inclusion of WiiMote and Nunchuck support, which I will be concentrating in this review.

As with any Wii game, there are gimmicks and an obvious one here is 'shaking the WiiMote around' for melee attacks. Stupidity aside, tacking on waggle control at least contributed a massive improvement on gameplay over to the GameCube version, which while graphically good, was a pain to play due to the unwieldy controls of the GCN controller. The WiiMote control does enable console third person and first person games a joy to play, though it isn't as precise as what you would normally get when playing PC shooters with a KB+Mouse setup.

The targeting system for one is different from FPS where the crosshair always remains in the centre. In RE4: Wii controls the , the WiiMote crosshair, where as the analogue stick on the nunchuck controls Leon's (and Ada's) viewpoint. Basically the camera and aiming are controlled independently. For example in order to shoot an off-screen enemy, move the analogue stick around so Leon/Ada's camera also changes. Once the enemy is in sight, hold down the 'B' button on the WiiMote where the crosshair will appear then aim with WiiMote so the crosshair pointer will move towards the enemy and press the 'A' button to shoot.

Unbelievable as it may sound, what this mean is you can't walk and shoot.

It does gives a sort of light-gun kind of vibe to it, which is okay, though it needed some getting used to. The WiiMote isn't as precise as mouse to do FPS style twitches and I believe Capcom was wise enough to understand that. In fact this is probably why the next Resident Evil spin-off (Umbrella Chronicles) to appear on the Wii will be on-rails. It will appeal to a more casual crowd, which is what the Wii appears to be built for (yes, I was being derogatory).

Perhaps the biggest disappointment after playing RE4: Wii edition was how good the visuals still hold up. Yes you read that right. RE4 was originally a GameCube game, and as a port, remains the best looking game I have seen released on the Wii this side of the pond. So while I thought that RE4 looked great on the Wii especially on 16:9 none-HD tellies, I am disappointed that there are no developers that are willing to push the Wii to its graphically limits, preferring instead to tack-on waggle capabilities with crap graphics.

Resident Evil 4 was an already great game just slightly handicapped by traditional dual analogue gamepads. The Wii version is even better and is the definitive version to play. Controls could have been executed better, but the precision of aiming of the WiiMote makes this the edition to own/rent. If you prefer, RE4: Wii edition also support the Classic Controller and GameCube controller, but why should you? Playing shooters with gamepads is like riding a bicycle without handles, sans-brakes and punctured tyres, while blindfolded with hands tied to the back and a cat peeing around while attempting to cycle on the M25 on the wrong side of the road during winter. It just does not make sense.

Likes:
- Ada Wong
- Wii remote control better implemented than majority of Wii games
- Same old masterpiece that was Resident Evil 4, with good controls to boot
- Proper progressive widescreen
- Ada Wong ^^

Gripes
- Essentially a GameCube game with waggle support
- UK rip-off price
- Can't run and shoot
- Not enough Ada Wong

8/10

You can purchase it here from Amazon UK or import the NTSC version from Play-Asia

Gyakuten Saiban 3 / Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations mini-review

Is there really a point to reviewing another Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney here in the west) game? The gameplay mechanics are alike as the first two GBA to DS ports (you should read a review somewhere). But what you get in the final Phoenix Wright outing is more cases to solve (yay!) and closure too (boo!).

Gyakuten Saiban 3 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations) opens with a glimpse to the protagonist's past and how he came to meet his mentor Mia Fey. It is sort of a tutorial case similar to the first cases in the previous two cases though it is much longer than those two. The case is also more challenging to solve than its previous equivalent cases from the other two games, signalling that the writers has opened up to new imaginations. Other cases are also similarly more challenging and present more twists than 100 David Fincher films.

Then we have out new prosecutor Godot, who in my opinion is the highlight of GS3. Suffice to say I won't ruin it for you but his involvement in Gyakuten Saiban 3 is deeper than previous two main prosecutors from the first two games combined (don't worry we will have a prosecutor reunion in this game). You will also find that with the cast of new characters, beloved old ones makes a hearty and significant return. The much derided Psyche-Lock mechanism that bring trial like solutions during investigations is also back for this game. This may annoy some folks but it does increase the amount of challenge within the investigations part of the game.

The localisation effort is impeccable with plenty of reference to modern popular culture. There are hilarity abound that will delight fans of comedy (such as a very nice dig at Microsoft's blue screen of death), and rival that of other comedy point and click adventure games such as Sam & Max and Monkey Island. As with any text heavy adventure games there are bound to be elementary English mistakes (mainly typos, some grammar etc.), and they do exist. But these are so rare that they are negligible. However if you are the kind of people who are easily distracted by such minute details then you will be pleased to know that Capcom has promised to improve on the localisation for the western release. That and you shouldn't be reading this English challenged blog.

The game isn't without its problem though. The soundtrack by Sega's Noriyuki Iwadare, while awesome, is plagued by what seems to be of a lesser audio quality output compared to the first Gyakuten Saiban DS port, especially when playing through a headphone. You can easily hear the artefacts due to poor audio compression or maybe though the non-optimisation by Capcom.

You will also find that in the final case (where you play a previous prosecution attorney in a defence role) rather than redrawing his/her sprites, the developers merely flipped the stocks of sprites, complete with his/her typical persecution attire. While it is understandable since they have already spent so much time redrawing the same person's sprites (and others too!), it just doesn't look as right as non-flipped sprites. You will also encounter a rookie prosecutor Miles Edgeworth (the main prosecutor from the first game) in one of the case and may find that the sprites aren't as detailed.

Despite the minor annoyance, the game is filled with awesomeness. GS3 is a fitting end to the law career of Phoenix Wright. It delves into Phoenix and other main characters past as well as tying up lose end. The fifth and final case for example is a major one, worthy of Hollywood proportion that ties all three titles together. And it delivers an emotional ending for this reviewer.

Does it take three glowing review to entice you to purchase a Gyakuten Saiban game? I hope not. It is easily the best Gyakuten Saiban game of the Phoenix Wright arc trilogy, though I would well to recommend that you buy and play the games chronologically. Go order it now. I will now weep and wish a Haitian remove any Gyakuten Saiban from my memory so I can play it again.

9/10

Related posts: Gyakuten Saiban, Gyakuten Saiban 2

Upcoming DS games

My copy of Gyakuten Saiban 3 DS is due here soon and I can't wait to battle prosecutor Godot. Expect a review sometime next week, maybe. While waiting you can read my impressions on GS1 and GS2.

With Heroes of Mana, Atlus' sRPG Luminous Arc and a proper DS Harvest Moon Rune Factory, this summer games draught is finally coming to an end (what an awful summer).

UK games draught continues though, unless you do the right thing by importing.

Gyakuten Saiban 3

My copy of Gyakuten Saiban 3 DS is due here soon and I can't wait to battle prosecutor Godot. Expect a review sometime next week, maybe. While waiting you can read my thoughts on GS1 and GS2.

With Heroes of Mana, Atlus' sRPG Luminous Arc and a proper DS Harvest Moon Rune Factory, this summer games draught is finally coming to an end (what an awful summer).

UK games draught continues though.

A Pair of Clover Video Game Review: Okami & God Hand (PS2)

There is something wrong with the games industry when a studio responsible for two critically positive titles Ōkami and God Hand has to be shut down by its parent company (Capcom) due to lack of sales of said titles. I am talking about the almost legendary Clover Studio (who were also responsible for creating the Viewtiful Joe franchise), one of the better internal development house at Capcom (next to Production Studio 4). But this sort of things happen in an industry dominated by rehash sports title. Just look at what happened to ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Unlike the heads of Sony Computer Entertainment who seems to think that Team Ico is a core part of SCEI, Capcom decided it was best to dissolve the creative but commercially failed development studio.

Today I will be reviewing their final two games, both developed for the PS2 and recently released in Europe.

Ōkami

Ōkami is one of those games that hits you in the face when you first boot it up. The visuals, based on traditional Japanese suibokuga water coloured ink illustration style is as wonderful to look at, as the game was to play with. The fact that the cel-shaded technique looks so well during animation is even more impressive.

The comparisons to the Zelda series by professional reviewers might trouble some, and it is all true, from the plot style to puzzle and adventure mechanism. The director Hideki Kamiya is said to be a massive Zelda fan. But you will be glad to know that this isn't just another Zelda game. It has qualities that I am sure Eiji Aonuma from Nintendo EAD would not have thought about. At the same time the protagonist isn't as charming as the much beloved Link.

The plot is based on the ancient Japanese religion Shinto. Mixed among these is a bunch of good ol' fairy tales. The god Ōkami has always provided a protection in the ancient Nippon but one day the protection was ceased and the peace of the land was broken. You play as an ancient sun goddess known as Amaterasu who has stand guard in the village of Kamiki. As a white wolf god, Amaterause sets out on a journey to save the land from darkness.

Gameplay is done through a system called the 'Celestial Brush' and a combination of button mashing. The 'Celestial Brush' is a dynamic mechanism that mimics a paintbrush and is probably created as a tribute to the graphical style of the game. It is similar to the use gestures in stylus or mouse based games, but the painting is done with the PS2's analog stick instead. The brush is used on a canvas (brought up by pausing the game) where the player would paint on it to create commands. This can be used during puzzles and combats such as drawing a water lilly on a water's surface to make one sprout up.

Ōkami is a gorgeous game. Like it's influential cousin, it engages the player to think and in turn the player would fall in love with what is an epic and lush masterpiece. You owe it to yourself, and to those guys at Clover Studio, to play this.

9/10

God Hand

God Hand is a fun game. Despite the many negative reviews circulating (like the 3/10 review from an IGN reviewer who hates hard games) the web, God Hand is a fun game. It is a fun old school beat 'em up game. It is like Double Dragon, but in 3D. But unlike Double Dragon, it is fun. I can't stress it enough. This is a fucking fun game.

Compared to the beautiful but complex Ōkami, God Hand dosn't look like a typical Clover Studio game. But that assumption is wrong. While Ōkami was a fluke in innovation, God Hand is a much more traditional Capcom style game, although it serves the old school much more than others. Like Viewtiful Joe and Devil May Cry, and other Shinji Mikami's games, the gameplay is old school button masher. It was as if Clover Studio knew what those men in suits were planning for them, then said "fuck it, let us spend all this Capcom money making this old school game that nobody but old school fans would buy". What it does have is plenty of humour and an in-depth fighting engine.

The plot is non-existent, but if you must know, it is about this rambler Gene, whose arm was cut off. His replacement arm happened to be the famed Godhand, which gives him power beyond the comprehension of mortal men. Though he moans a lot, he has a keen sense of justice and loves to dream of himself as having a kinder side.

The gameplay is similar to Devil May Cry series. You can move in any directions on the 3D plane. Buttons can be mapped to suit each player's individual preference. Special moves can be unlocked. The biggest problem with God Hand (apart from sub-par texture quality) is lack of proper camera control. Unlike Mikami's Resident Evil 4, the right analog stick is not used to control the camera (although the viewpoint is similar to RE4's), but used to execute dodge movements. This may take some getting used to.

Let me tell you this, God Hand is one of the most difficult games I have ever played, along side Devil May Cry 3. And with plenty of wacky humour, it is also one of the funniest. There are plenty of witty remarks to be caught, alongside the plenty of cultural reference to other beat 'em up products on other mediums, like Street Fighter and Kung Fu Hustle.

Unless you appreciate a good brawler game, you will probably won't like it, but for those who love a good old school arcade style beat 'em up, the former Clover Studio has created something of a heaven for you, the perfect swansong for a small studio known for making good games.

8/10

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You will be pleased to know that Clover Studio lives on as Seeds hopefully as a fully independent separate company from Capcom.

Video Game Impressions: killer7 (GameCube)

Yay! The stupendous Big Brother is finally coming to an end, which means no more bullshit programmes on the telly. Even some of my mates who stupidly enjoys reality TV has complained about the banality of this year's series.

Anyway... I recently got myself a copy of Suda 51's killer7 (original GCN version) from GameStation. Let me tell you, this is one of the most fucked up games I have ever played, and I meant that as a compliment. Produced by Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe, Gyakuten Saiban), the game features unconventional gameplay (on rails) and graphics (textureless cel-shaded).



You play as this assassin called Harman Smith. He has the ability to manifest himself into seven different split personalities, both mentally and physically. They are known as the killer7. Each of the seven has their own abilities such as unique killing skills.

I won't talk much since I am pretty tired right now and describing the game would require some kind of use of my right brain, I don't feel like using either one right now. You can read the review at Eurogamer though.

Technorati tags: Killer 7 Killer7 GameCube Capcom

Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten / Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney mini-review

One of the best time of my life was when I played this game a few months ago. Three days of non-stop playing, occasionally stopping for food and drink and other of life's essentials - and I finally 'beaten' the game in the early hours of a Sunday morning. It's like reading four detective books. Your eyes will bleed but it doesn't matter because you will want to get to the bottom of the truth.

You will become a recluse as you are sucked into the world where Phoenix, Maya, Ema and Edgeworth lives. When you finish, it's like something good has been taken away. You will understand the frustration that is felt by Harry Potter fans who has to wait for the next book like forever. You may even weep as you try to enjoy it all over again. But it will never be the same as the first time. Same goes with Gyakuten Saiban. It is that good.

Also known as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney in the western world, Gyakuten Saiban DS is a remake of the original Gameboy Advance game where you play as rookie lawyer Phoenix Wright. It is easy and yet sometimes frustrating. It is the only world where you are allowed 'five lives' in the court (don't worry you can save). A world that nothing makes sense but when it dawns on you, you will be thinking "duh!". The DS version also contains a bonus case which is almost as long as two normal cases put together. Perfect for investigative adventure game fans, especially for those who remember the days of Monkey Island and Sam & Max.

Any objections?

9/10

Buy now from Play-Asia or Amazon UK

Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble review

In the age of 3D game - where 'photorealism' is a highly sought after 'art', games often fall down on where it matters - fun, fun, fun. The 2004 GameCube release, with its Street Fighter cum Mega Man cum Double Dragon hybrid, sought to remedy that with its side scrolling 2D (with 3D environments) style and was a critical success.

A helpful introduction sequence introduces our hero who walks into the film set of Captain Blue's newest movie where a crime syndicate rushes in and makes off with the film. Joe's sis, Jasmine sets off to retrieve it and Joe has to help her. At first Joe lacks his 'Viewtiful' power but a nifty video recorder soon fixes this and it all boils down to just fighting, fighting and fighting. Viewtiful Joe, in his skin tight red spandex suit, is similar in style to the hilarity of Power Rangers or Ultraman TV shows of yore. It isn't all beat-'em up. There are puzzles to be solved using the DS unique input system, where players must occasionally 'think' before proceeding. The DS second screen (non touch-screen) is put to good use here in its ability to switch to VFX mode and also to solve puzzles. Mix it with spoof movie scenes, campy and cheesy one-liners and you got yourself a great portable game.

Viewtiful Joe's signature moves includes the usual jumps, kicks and punches. Like most fighting games, there are combos that can be achieved. As you progress you would be introduced with new VFX moves that among others involves scratching the screens, slowing down the action, Screen Sliding and Screen Splitting (in order to solve puzzles). The slow-motion feature is quite useful and isn't as gimmicky as other games. Slow Joe down to solve tricky puzzles or simply use it in a fighting sequence to punch bullets back. As you progress through the game you are able to upgrade Joe with new moves by purchasing these new moves from the Power-Up Screen. These requires you to collect V-Points which can be obtained through various items and also downed enemies (mostly Clownies) which turns into V-Points as they go meet their maker.

There are two levels of difficulty. Being a Viewtiful virgin, I started using the 'kid' mode but after 15 minutes of frustration on how mind numbingly easy the game was; I switched to the 'adult' mode. This was still pretty easy although the puzzles were slightly more complex. The enemies required more hits to down but they didn't actually get faster or tougher to beat - just longer. You also never get more than two enemies to fight with on the screen at any one time. This is probably more due to the DS hardware limitation than anything else.

I have been told that the console versions are much harder and longer although I believe Capcom would have thought about the whole issue that Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble would be a portable title and as such it always meant to be easy - just pick up and play - like any other DS games (eg. Mario Kart DS, Sonic Rush). While on the bus you can just whip it out and kick some Clownies before closing the lid when you need to disembark. The cel-shaded toon graphic is awesome and really push the DS through its 2D limit. It never once stutters out of breath and the frame rate is consistently smooth. The lack of multiplayer meant that re-playbility is pretty low but don't let that stop you because whatever the flaws, if you are a Viewtiful virgin like me, then the single player game is a whole lot of fun.

Likes:
Great 2D toon-shaded graphics
Fast and action old school action
Funny storyline

Gripes:
Too easy
Too short
Repetitive
No Wireless of Nintendo WFC capability

Viewtiful Joe is released in the UK next month.

7/10

Buy now from Play-Asia or Amazon UK

Gamecube addiction / Tube Relief

We just bought a Gamecube, so for the last few days I have been glued to Jenni's 'new' used 21" telly (20 quid, a pretty darn good deal) playing Resident Evil 4. This will explain why I wasn't online over the past couple of days (plus my net connection is currently down in London).

A lot of discussions went into which console we should get and the best reason for the Gamecube is it is dirt cheap. Due to its rather unpopular misconception that it is a 'kiddies' console one can easily pick up a bundled Gamecube for as little ast £45 or a used one for thirty quid. Also we rather like playing games and due to our unability to lay down £300 for a new graphic card, this was the best we could do.

The second reason is due to its miniscule but quality library. Visit any specialised game store and you will find the Gamecube section rather limited (to usually a couple of shelves). This is good news because we won't be tempted to part money on useless 'me-too' games. Quality is important and the Zelda exclusive to Nintendo is one of them.

Ignoring the old PC Vs Console arguement, this is our first console since my purchase of an old Dreamcast and PSOne many many years ago and Jennifer's first one since her Playstation was sold off by her mum while she was in Britain. We are enjoying it for the moment. I know PS3 and Revolution is just around the corner but those will cost around £300 on release. There is no way I am willing to part £300 on a console that will cost half in a year's time.

Yes I just replaced interweb addiction with gaming addiction. God knows what else I am going to end up addicted with.

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Had my photo shoot with a photographer for the Tube Relief newspiece. Can't say I wasn't nervous especially with a Nikon D70 starring at my face. It only took about two minutes but it was done during rush hour with hundreds of commuters pouring out of the local tube station!

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Yes it is this week. Me and Jennifer has decided to stay at Ealing and travel via a taxi to Amersham at 4am. There we will meet with the other participants (about 60). After a peep talk and group photo, we will board the first Metropolitan Line at around 5.30am and be in Central London by 7.30am and end in Upminster sometime after midnight. So that is 19-20 hours of traveling on the tube.

Jennifer and I spent the best part of last night fine tuning our route for the day and while it isn't 'optimised' we can say we are rather pleased with ourselves. We aren't taking the whole thing so seriously (to beat the rest) just for a fun day out. Jennifer had a chat with a tube challenge veteran (Jonathan Saunders) and he was very serious of the whole thing down to advising us to bring a pair of shades to use in the underground!