Shopping Basket

Game: Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Console played on: Xbox 360
Person Playing It: Graeme Tulip

A few of you were asking me what I thought of Call of Duty 4 last night. A few (who didn’t know I owned a game store) were also asking how I got it early. The answer to the second question you should now know. The answer to the first is that I feel it is the game I have been waiting all year for. It is by far the greatest first person shooter I have played both off and online. The single player campaign is just amazing and at no point do I feel like I’m just trying to get to the end – I’m genuinely enjoying every minute. The graphics are amazing, the AI is just right and scenarios are great. I don’t want to spoil it too much for anyone so I won’t say too much. The online is absolutely mind blowing – the maps are big and very detailed but at no point are you running around by yourself trying to find other people. There are two and three storey buildings on each map that you can access and hide in or snipe from – don’t sit too long though as someone will know you’ve gone in there…. my rating 10/10 and a very very very serious contender for game of the year.

Game: Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition
Console played on: Wii
Person Playing It: Jake Rowe

Resident Evil 4 is a game you could pay half as much for on Gamecube and get exactly the same graphics, storyline and everything. Doing that however would make you miss out on one of the best Wii games there is.

The graphics are exactly the same as the Gamecube version but they are some of the best graphics I have seen in any game ever including some 360 games I have played.

Even if you don’t like the graphics you’ll be too immersed in the gameplay to care. Resi4 has one of the best storylines ever and even though I have never played and other Resi game I couldn’t help but be drawn further and further into the plot.

Finally, we get to the best bit. The Controls.

No Wii game that I have played so far has used the remote to its full potential. Most games either over or under use the motion sensing. Resi4 uses the remotes capabilities perfectly. You have to use the remote for things such as shooting, knifing and turning or operating things while menus and movement are done with the analogue stick and buttons. The shooting is especially fun as trying to aim at an axe that’s flying towards your head with an analogue stick can be difficult but with the remote you move your arm about and inch to the right and hit A.

Another great thing about this game are the Interactive cutscenes. In some cutscenes instead of just watching them you have to press buttons or swing the remote to do things like dodging, running or escaping.

I would give this game 9.5/10 for the controls, storyline and the general fun you get from blowing someones head away.

Game: The Legend of Zelda – Phantom Hourglass
Console played on: Wii
Person Playing It: Bruno Poltronieri, South Shields

Finally, Zelda for the DS… This is one of the most enjoyable games I have played on this console, not once did I get bored.

I was looking forward to the return of the cell-shading Link, for Wind Waker most people seemed to hate the graphics but it works perfectly on the DS. The game is completely 3D, this helps immerse you even more into the adventure and you’ll get a few laughs out of Link’s hilarious facial expressions.

When I heard the gameplay would only use the stylus, I was a little sceptical at first, however Nintendo has finally found the perfect way to use the touch screen. Touch to run, tap to hit and even draw on the map to remember certain things. They couldn’t have made it any better.

The storyline was slightly disappointing, it started out as any other Zelda game but unlike many others there were no twists in the end.

For experienced Zelda gamers like me, this game was way too easy; you’ll only get stuck once or twice. However, all the beginners I know who have been playing Phantom Hourglass found it incredibly difficult; either way, it’ll take you a good 20 hours to finish the game and even more if you attempt all the secondary quests. The multiplayer mode will provide you with great fun whether you play online or with your friends, there’s nothing more satisfying than beating a Japanese guy in the comfort of your own home.

I am giving this game 9/10 for the amazing controls, graphics and enjoyment I got from it.

Game: Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground
Console played on: Wii and PS2
Person Playing It: Daniel McCartan, South Shields

Tony Hawk: Proving Ground is the game that all skateboard fanatics, like me, have been waiting for. The graphics on the covers look great and the prospect of using the new “Nail The Grab” and creating/editing videos features, were mouth watering. Then came the bad news. On the Wii and PS2 versions, there was no video create/edit feature. At first I and many like me were devastated, however, I was determined to play this game.

The graphics on this game are basically the same a Project 8, although the Wii seems to be a bit smoother, and the game play is fairly good and consistent. There are 3 types of mission in each level, Career, Hardcore and Rigger. The idea that you can create your own path through the game was, at first, amazing but, like most recent mainstream games for Wii and PS2, was slightly disappointing as, although you can choose which missions to do, you don’t really feel as though you are choosing your own path, because further in the game you have to come back and do the other missions to unlock new places and skills.

The controls on the PS2 are fairly similar to the ones on previous games except the “Nail The Grab” feature has its own set of controls. On the Wii however, I was really looking forward to getting this because of the sheer fun of the controls. Once again I was extremely disappointed. The controls for normal grab and flip tricks are OK to use, but the motion controls (moving the remote and nunchuck to do stuff), like for the Nail The Trick feature etc, are just not sensitive enough. I tried turning up the sensitivity, but then it became sensitive to every tiny movement. I think they went a bit to far by using the Wii features too much, as after a while, you get a bit sick of constantly moving the remote up and down to kick.

The story for this is not as fun and exciting as in THAM and the THUG versions, but is exciting in its own ways. For hardcore missions you have to do really crazy stuff, for Career missions you have to do footage and demos, and Rigger missions you need to add you own features in the world to achieve certain goals. None of the missions are really memorable, but you could spend ages just skating round and Skate-Checking (shoulder barge random people as you zoom past them a high speed) people for miles.

Overall this is a great game and I wasn’t at all disappointed with the PS2 version and I would certainly advise getting this game on PS2 if you don’t have a 360 or PS3, but if you are going to get this on Wii, make sure you have a lot of patience and are not too destructive when angered.

I would give this game an 8/10 and, even though the Wii version was disappointing, is probably the best Tony Hawk game there has been.

Game: My Sims
Console played on: Wii
Person Playing It: Jake Rowe, South Shields

I was looking forward to this game a lot. I had played The Sims and Animal Crossing and knew that both had their good points. I thought a game of the two put together would be absolutely amazing and I have to say … I was mildly disappointed. The Character Customising is better than Animal Crossing but the Hairstyles and Clothes are still limited and there is no option to make your own.

Building houses is fun to start with but only becomes really fun when you’re asked to build businesses as each business has its own set of blocks allowing you to be imaginative, but once all the shops are built its back to making houses with coloured blocks again. Finding all the essences and blueprints is fun and allows you to really customize your furniture but usually your making it for someone else and even when you do decide to have fun and make something really cool and outrageous for yourself, you’ll either realise that you don’t have the blueprint or even if you made a huge mansion at the start you still have a really small house that it won’t fit in.

Now, graphically this is a good game. The people are Mii-like and the towns and everything are cartoons and at no point does the game try to be realistic like The Sims did. The controls are fun and make a good use of the motion sensing in the building and exploring modes.

I think all together i would give this game 5/10 as the controls and graphics are good but the gameplay, even with the new areas to explore and unlock is repetitive and gets very boring eventually.

Just seen a clip of Activision’s efforts to get us in the holiday mood with a Christmassed out map of the level ‘Crash’. I must admit that its very much appreciated and I will be playing it tonight.

According to XboxFamily.com, the Xbox 360 could soon be getting Microsoft-endorsed motion controls. Rumor has it that Microsoft has licensed Gyration to build the peripheral, a company you may know from building a prototype for Nintendo of the now-famous Wiimote. (That’s the original prototype pictured here.)

But really, do we need more motion controls right now? I mean, we could certainly use some that work better, but especially if Microsoft is building a separate controller that will only be used for a handful of games, it’s doubtful that we’ll see anything better than we’ve already got on other systems.

1) Mario Party DS (DS)- 330,000 / 1,156,000
2) Final Fantasy IV (DS) – 288,000 / NEW
3) Wii Fit (Wii) – 214,000 / 749,000
4) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) – 114,000 / 664,000
5) Naruto: Shippuuden N-Ultimate Accelerator 2 (PS2) – 109,000 / NEW
6) Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) – 105,000 / 317,000
7) Dragon Quest IV (DS) – 94,000 / 963,000
Doraemon Baseball: Dramatic Stadium (DS) – 85,000 / NEW
9) Wii Sports (Wii) – 84,000 / 2,425,000
10) Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box (DS) – 83,000 / 527,000