Games Journalism Or Bust!

Late To The Party: Sonic the Hedgehog

Late To The Party is a regular column in which I play a retro title for the first time to see how well it compares with the games of today. This edition was published at B4HD.

Obviously, I’m not such a caveman that I’ve never played the original Sonic the Hedgehog. When I was first discovering what these strange distractions called ‘video games’, I used to play a level or two while at a friend’s house, but being only four or five years old meant we were unable to get past Marble Arch, Zone 1.

Being the Nintendo fanboy that I was, I didn’t really play any of the sequels either. I never had a Dreamcast so the much-lauded Sonic Adventure games were never accessible to me. In fact, until recently, my most comprehensive experience of a Sonic game was 2008’s Sonic Unleashed. I know. I can hear you eyes rolling from here.

With the Virtual Console on the Wii, I no longer had any excuses for my ignorance. I downloaded the original Sonic the Hedgehog and tried to make my way all the way through it.

And I say try because it’s still a remarkably challenging game. As with all retro platformers, the lack of health packs or regenerative health means you can’t take as many risks as you can in games today, and while anyone who has played the earlier Mario titles knows and expects this, the world of Sonic seems to be considerably more dangerous.

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Late To The Party: Chrono Trigger

My second Late To The Party feature, in which I play an old game for the first time to see how well it stands up to today’s standards. As seen on B4HD.

I’ve pretty much raised myself on Western RPGs. In an age where there are so many games coming out and so little time to actually play them, this vein of role-playing game has always seemed so much more accessible and immediate than its lengthy Japanese counterpart.

Oh sure, I’ve dabbled in the XP-centric delights of the East. Pokémon remains a fond favourite of mine and I truly enjoyed Tales of Symphonia, but every time I’ve tried to immerse myself in a Final Fantasy or something similar, I’ve found myself put off by one thing or another.

Chrono Trigger is to be congratulated then for holding my attention longer than any other JPRG that didn’t star Pikachu. While I’ve walked away from other such games without remorse, for some reason I feel compelled to finish Chrono Trigger.

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E3 2010: The State Of Play

An interview feature originally published in MCV, Issue 591 - Friday, June 11th 2010, and subsequently published on MCVUK.com.

The industry that enters this year’s E3 is venturing into new territory – gone is the traditional five-year console cycle and in its place approach ambitious new technologies, principally Natal, Move, iPad and 3DS. As the trade prepares for one of the most crucial events in its history, James Batchelor takes a look at where the games industry stands today…

E3 always unites the industry. All eyes are on Los Angeles, for the biggest event in the gaming calendar to see signs of hope and a glimpse at where we are heading.

The 2009 show carried the burden of returning this spectacular showcase to its former glories after a few quieter years. With the glamour now recaptured, the 2010 expo is under even more pressure: it has to show where gaming can go with tighter budgets and a lack of new consoles – something we would traditionally be expecting by now.

“Last year’s E3 was a return to the excitement and energy that defines our industry,” says Take-Two’s CEO Ben Feder. “This year, we’re expecting even more and hope that the show will help to re-energise the industry.”

Ubisoft’s UK marketing director Murray Pannell agrees: “The show itself seemed to get back to its best last year, and I’d hope that it continues. The industry needs to show new, exciting and innovative products – stuff that really captures the imagination and gets consumers clamouring for more.”

It doesn’t help that the games industry has endured a tough twelve months. The market value has dropped, sales are fluctuating and even a blockbuster Q1 didn’t quite deliver.

With the after-effects of the recession still being felt by the consumer, the burden is on publishers and platform holders to show the public that there is still plenty worth investing in.

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Interview: Treyarch on COD: Black Ops

An interview feature originally published in MCV, Issue 590 - Friday, June 4th 2010, and subsequently published on MCVUK.com.

Following the phenomenal success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is no easy task.
The game smashed sales records and outperformed other major entertainment brands, such as Avatar and Harry Potter. Six months after MW2 hit shelves, the FPS still has yet to fall out of the All Formats Top 10 – despite the wealth of blockbusters that has been released since.

But then again, following the original Modern Warfare was just as challenging, and Treyarch more than held their own. The studio’s 2008 hit Call of Duty: World At War more than doubled the week one sales of its predecessor and has gone on to sell over 11 million units worldwide.

With such a triumph under its belt, the pressure is on for Treyarch to shine again with this year’s Call of Duty outing, Black Ops.

Most of the pressure on the developer comes from within. The team has been pushing itself to deliver a title worthy of the Call of Duty brand that also redefines what consumers can expect from the multi-million selling series.

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[Elsewhere] Late To The Party: Super Mario World

The column is entitled Late To The Party, and will be my take on retro games as a modern day gamer that has never played them before. Plenty of veteran fans can revisit titles and see how well they stand up to fond memories, but how well do they stand up for someone who has grown accustomed to today’s game mechanics?

The first entry (which can be found here at B4HD) has allowed me to rid myself of one of my greatest gaming shames: the fact that I had never played Super Mario World. I hope you enjoy my take on this hallowed classic, and be sure to check out future Late To The Parties every fortnight (I hope)…

Until about a month ago, I had never played Super Mario World. It’s one of my biggest gaming shames – right up there with never completing a Half-Life game without God Mode turned on and failing to understand the appeal of the Resident Evil series.

I don’t know why it took me so long. Never owning a SNES is a reasonably valid excuse, but I could (and perhaps should) have picked it up on the Game Boy Advance. Worse still, it has been sitting on my Wii menu since it was first released on Virtual Console – I downloaded it straight away but never brought myself to boot it up.

It wasn’t that I completely dismissed Super Mario World as a worthwhile use of my gaming time, but there was something inside me, some pessimistic voice that questioned if it really was that special. After all, having played many of the Mario titles that had come before and since World, was I really missing much? Surely to an avid fan of the more modern New Super Mario Bros and its Wii sequel, Super Mario World is just like any other Mario game, right?

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[Elsewhere] Have I Got Games For You

Still, it was great fun to record - just as fun as GameBurst’s own quiz. Download it and give it a listen - and then maybe send them an email demanding more. I’d certainly love to here more of the audio gags from Alex.

Interview: Bethesda

A feature originally published in MCV, Issue 586 - Friday, May 7th 2010, and subsequently published on MCVUK.com.

Bethesda’s upcoming release slate is brimming with promising new IP, not to mention the sequel to its 2008 smash hit, Fallout 3. MCV speaks to Bethesda’s marketing boss Pete Hines to discuss the company’s line-up, digital downloads and its MMO ambitions…
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Return to Podcasting

I honestly had planned to give it up when I left The WiiDS Podcast back in October, but guest spots in recent months and discussions with fellow podcasters were an incessant remindeer about how much fun it can be.

In February, the nefarious Lewis Holt - known by many as Dippy Dolittle - started speculating with me about a hypothetical games podcast, one that would avoid the pits and perils that had hit other shows we had listened to and the struggling WiiDS. We came up with a hypothetical premise, a hypothetical schedule and even began discussing it (hypothetically) with another fellow former podcaster looking to pick up the mic again - Neil Taylor (aka Kid Dogg).

The result? The not-so-hypothetical GameBurst, a new half-hour twice weekly games podcast. The first episode will be out Sunday, May 9th, with a preview episode due out in the next couple of days. Head to the new site for more info (forgive the lack of logo - it’s a work in progress), and I hope you enjoy what we’ve come up with.

[Elsewhere] Digital Cowboys 152

I swear this will be the last time I mention me giving up video games for lent, but it happened to be the reason for my latest podcast appearance.

The ever-brilliant Digital Cowboys invited me to talk about my experience as it tied in nicely with their latest episode, DC152: Our Life Without Games. It was great to talk about the last two months, the high points, the low points, the reasons why and the lessons learned.

If you’ve not come across the Digital Cowboys before - and shamefully I hadn’t before guesting with them back in October - I urge you to listen. They have a fantastic show with strong, interesting discussions and the two hosts speak with a near-perfect blend of enthusiasm and professionalism.

Does the industry need 3D?

A feature originally published in MCV, Issue 582 - Friday, April 9th 2010, and subsequently published on MCVUK.com.

3D has become something of a buzz word in recent months. With most of the biggest cinema releases now launching with 3D screenings, interest in the technology has inevitably risen within the games industry.

In the last year alone, we have seen the likes of Disney’s G-Force and Ubisoft’s James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game boast stereoscopic 3D modes.

Even as recently as last month, Nintendo hinted at the first details of its 3D-enabled new handheld, currently named the 3DS, and Square Enix released Batman: Arkham Asylum – Game of the Year Edition, which featured TriOviz 3D glasses.

There is even a 3D Gaming Summit, due to be held in Los Angeles from April 21st, exploring the impact the technology will have on our industry. Like it or not, 3D won’t be disappearing any time soon.

Of course, 3D gaming is nothing new. The technology has had a presence in the industry since the early days of the Vectrex, the Sega Scope 3D for Master System and the ill-fated Nintendo Virtual Boy.

So why has the industry now renewed its efforts to master the third dimension?

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