BlackKnight

Kate Melua - Piece by Piece

Hokuto no Ken.. that GG-esque Fist of the North Star game that shipped to me today. Its a pretty big disappointment... Dont know about anyone else but its one of the most clunky unorthodox 2d fighters Ive ever played. Edit: LoL forgot I'd spent the last half hour with Tiberium Wars. Unlike HnK, this hasnt disappointed so far - fingers crossed.

If that is true then its the most remarkably stupid thing Ive ever heard of. Why would anyone in their right mind want to spend more of their precious Memory Stick space with higher res videos if they are not only resized, but resized below the PSP's native resolution. What was Sony thinking? Oh well... my PSP is currently at 3.02 OE-A. If DAx comes up with a 3.30 OE soon I guess its time to take the risk of flashing again.

This is a farely vague and generic error message. We're going to need more details to help- start by seeing if he remembers what he installed or changed about the system immediately before this started appearing?

Katie Melua - Spider's Web

I was waiting for the Black 120GB 360. But what's with that crazy price? Admittedly that US figure is about what we here in Aus pay for the Premium one as it is... so I'm scared to think what the Elite will cost when its released here in Winter. They really should have retired one of the existing SKUs and introduced this at the Premium price point. I meant seriously... how much can the larger 2.5" HDD really be costing them? And still no built-in WiFi. What the hell, MS?

Katie Melua - Call Off The Search

Cheers guys and have a good one Drake~

[3/28/07] Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary for PS2 & PSP Game: Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary System: PlayStation 2 & PlayStation Portable Emulators: PCSX2 Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary is simply the epitome of the ‘falling-block’ puzzle genre. It takes everything good about each of the previous 5 core games in the series and adds almost twice as many new features, resulting in possibly the best-in-class package imaginable on the PlayStation 2 and PSP. While an online-enabled freeware PC version and an 8-player DS version were released last year, they will not be the focus of this review since their feature-sets are to varying degrees different to those released for the Sony platforms. First off; what the hell is Puyo Puyo! ? It is a profoundly Japanese puzzle franchise developed by Compile (later assimilated into Sega). What distinguishes it amongst the others is that it was deemed, back in the day, too Japanese for a straight localisation process. Many bizarre characters were featured speaking needlessly drawn-out pre-match banter, some with unsettlingly sexual overtones. Different properties were attached to the Puyo Puyo engine to make it more sellable – to everyone that played Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine on the Sega Mega Drive, or Kibry’s Avalanche on the Super Nintendo, you were actually playing a reskinned and slightly remixed version of the original Puyo Puyo! In essence, the premise of the game is to join up 4 ‘puyo’ (beans, whisps or various other things as they have become known overseas) of the same colour in any arrangement so long as they all touch each other. Unlike other games at the time, it was primarily a competitive affair – two players race to clear puyo on side by side playing spaces. If a number of clears are setup to execute one after another, ‘ojama’ (trash) puyos are sent onto the opponent’s side to punish them and block their progress. Larger amounts of ojama are proportionate rewards to larger combos. The system gave the game a considerably greater latitude than Columns or Tetris, which were designed to promote far-sight and endurance over quick thinking. The franchise was taken over by Sega’s Sonic Team and an overhauled system was released as Puyo Puyo Fever!, the last Sega title for the ill-fated Dreamcast. This new title, along with a more cutesy visual style and cast of characters, changed some of the play dynamics. Trash drops became a lot less punishing, and the number of different coloured puyo was reduced from 5 to 4 by default, both reducing the original games’ brutal difficulty considerably. Also trash drops could now be averted by doing a combo before they fall, the ascribed penalty either being cancelled, or deflected back onto the other player. Most prominent was the addition of ‘Fever’ mode, a reward for countering enemy combos in this way. During the 10-50 seconds of Fever, pre-arranged lumps of puyo are dropped onto the screen after each combo; the puzzle now working out how to trigger them all off quickly. With a little practice, Fever mode becomes a way to quickly and easily pile a lot of ojama onto the enemy, although an additional reward is allocated to getting an ‘All-Clear’ (removing all puyo from the playspace in one go), which is exceedingly difficult, and an attempt at which costs the player the otherwise free combos Fever provides. As a final icing on the cake, Fever mode gives the opponent an insane amount of combos to counter, bringing them ever closer to hitting Fever themselves! Thus, Fever matches are some of the most frantic and exciting puzzle experiences around – Super Puzzle Fighter II and Lumines bouts never get this tense. This tight and incredibly fun system sets the stage for Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary, which is basically a concatenation of the original series, and Puyo Puyo Fever! 1 & 2, but with a whole lot added. To get an idea of the perspective, there are now 12 different modes. Modes 1 and 2 are carbon copies of the game systems in Puyo Puyo! and Puyo Puyo! 2 respectively, with mode 3 representing Puyo Puyo Fever! However, the other 9 are completely new systems with original game mechanics. To those like me who notice the vast intricacies between the first game and the Fever series, having so many brand-new systems is like having as many brand-new games thrown at you at once. Consider one that is like playing the game in a tank of water. Puyo still fall from the top of the screen, but float to the top of the water each time. So dropping some onto others actually pushes that whole column of blocks deeper into the water. It takes a long time for any puzzle-oriented mindset to wrap around this change. Or how about a mode that does not punish with trash puyo, but rather frozen puyo that melt over the course of 5 seconds and are already set-up to be triggered into large combos? The imperative here becomes surviving your enemy’s onslaught for those 5 seconds while your screen is almost full to be able to unleash a barrage of your own as soon as the iced puyos thaw out. One of the most frantic new modes packs half the screen with random puyo, but places a special star block right at the bottom. The game becomes a race to clear out all the puyo in the way of the star before your opponent can. I would imagine that by now you would already know whether or not this interests you – I am still coming to terms with the finer points of each game myself, and wouldn’t know where to start on the mode that switches the field upside down periodically, the mode that hides parts of the screen from view, the one that involves constant Fever, or ‘Okii’ mode that drops massively inflated puyo. Suffice to say that they could have got away with a lot less of the new modes for the 15th anniversary release, and that the sheer amount of new mechanics to play with was a very pleasing surprise. However, you may need to summise the rules for each by yourself, as the pre-match rules sheets are in some heavy Japanese and will not easily be decipherable by those with only marginal vocabularies. To anyone put off by the questionably aesthetics and overt senselessness of the Fever series, which is the only incarnation of the franchise released in English (Puyo Pop Fever for the DS, PSP and PlayStation 2), you will be relieved to know that favourite characters and themes return from the old games. Graphics for combos and the puyos themselves can be taken from the 16-bit games, the Fever games, or the new set of assets drawn specifically for Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary. The crazily designed fish and elephant characters return as sub-bosses – the game uses a tournament ladder style approach to single player. I am curious as to why Sonic Team didn’t make any attempt to change any of the more inappropriate content (why is the last boss still called Satan?) but overall there are pleasing additions all round. The music gets a reprisal as well – memorable tunes from the older games return and will be familiar especially to those who picked up Mean Bean Machine or Avalanche even if the returning characters are not. There are many more backgrounds included as well, but the most impressive feature is how all of this is integrated into the game. Characters and modes are unlocked during the single-player campaign (by the way, characters are more than just different placeholders – they actually affect the sequence of puyo that fall and other factors, like how much Fever guage is gained from counters) – you don’t start with everything at the beginning. For the 2- and 4-player modes, every aspect of the match can be customised, from how many different colours of puyo are used to which background and music piece accompany the competition. This is a welcome feature that is long overdue – head to head games in virtually every previous entry in the franchise have been stifled by playing on ONE background with ONE theme repeating over and over. Only a few select technical problems and omissions spoil this otherwise well-crafted title. The most glaring is the apparent lack of the replay feature that let you immortalise impressive achievements in Puyo Puyo Fever! and each title since. It seems like such an inconsequential thing to leave out, and yet it is missing here. Also, while the 4-player competitions are great (they allow for teams, handicaps – the works), everyone was tempted by the DS version’s unprecedented 8-player gameplay via WiFi. Surely the PSP version could accommodate that many via its own WiFi capability and the PS2 through multiple screens / iLinked consoles, but again we are left wanting. Finally, despite the absurd level of polish given to every feature that is included, and the ingenious concept work behind all the new modes, Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary is without any online or infrastructure mode whatsoever on the PSP and PlayStation 2. It doesn’t have a great replay value either – 3 or so runs of the story mode will likely unlock all the hidden content for you, but then again that isn’t different to any other puzzle game out there. In context, none of these have a huge weight, but are disappointing nonetheless. Choosing Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary is unavoidably a taste thing – coming from a niche genre, most will already know whether there is anything they can take from a puzzle game like this or not. Still, this title has the benefit of combining all the elements of its various incarnations and discarding very little, while presenting an abundance of new mechanics for the first time. The premise is simple enough and the aesthetic is honestly a hit and miss thing, but this is really the best this genre has to offer. The gameplay is rewarding at low levels but incredibly deep and is enhanced by a wealth of features targeted at both the hardcore, and at making the game accessible to newcomers. For what it is, Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary really could not be any better. It gets my solid recommendation. Controls: 8/10 Gameplay: 9/10 Graphics: 8/10 Sound: 9/10 Overall: 8/10 Grade: B If you are at all inclined toward this kind of game, pick Puyo Puyo! up right away. You’d have to import it, but at least the PSP version is region free anyway.

Still haven't got it working yet Mooney? Damn... sorry to hear it.

I've also been wondering about this- I am registered for the UK site and get their free case etc offers (even though Im not in the UK) but I can't seem to download these either. It's a pity- Wipeout Pure is easily one of the best games for the system- I always have it with me. Anyone who can try definitely should try to do so. Also, if you get the UK version from the site, you'll have access to more of the free downloadable content than any other region.

LoL this thread missed my birthday on the 21st. Dang, maybe next year. Cheers to Agozer though for sending me a PM on the day

Nice work finding that L.S.D. When I read that a demo was out a few hours ago, and that it needed 3.11 (wtf?) I was more than a tad pissed off. Cheers.

Getting an OE firmware installed from a 2.71 PSP actually is pretty simple and risk-less as compared to other methods. Get HEN-D Get Update Flasher/ Generic Downgrader Get Sony 1.50 update eboot Go for broke on 1.50 or install 3.XX OE from there.

Settings > System Settings > System Information It should say there what firmware it is. Not that I'd recommend downgrading someone else's PSP, there is HEN, eLoader etc available for versions 2.71 and higher. Mooney should be able to help there. Btw, there isn't a version 2.29- its just a random user name.

Oddly enough, a PSP God of War is advertised by a pamphlet included in the GoW2 case. However it is confirmed to be a new adventure, not a port of the existing entries, and will be developed by Ready at Dawn, and not SCEA's Santa Monica studios. Personally I'm not too excited by the prospect of a PSP version right now.

I finally bought a decentish MP3 player (Zen MicroPhoto) after using small dodgey ones for ages. Its great but the Creative headphones blow, and since I spent some cash on a player I might as well get a decent pair aswell. Right now Im looking at the Sennheiser PX-100. Id prefer a behind the head, 'street style' pair but from reviews this one seems to have the best sound quality in its price range and looks cool as well - even folds up for portability. Anyway the thing is I really only shopped around reviews for Sennheiser models... does anyone here have an audiophile's point of view on buying something like this? For all I know it would be better to pay out now for a better quality one or just settle for a higher end set of earbuds. Beyond reading a few reviews today I really don't know much of anything on this topic and any help would be appreciated. I don't want to spend too much, but my price range is pretty flexible.

[3/24/07] Monster World Complete Collection for PlayStation 2 Game: Sega Ages 2500 Vol.29: Monster World Complete Collection System: PlayStation 2 (Ports of Arcade, Master System, Game Gear and Mega Drive games) Emulators: PCSX2 (MAME, MEKA, Gens, Fusion) While one that lacks consistency, the Monster World / Wonder Boy series is one of the most underrated of Sega’s 16-bit legacies. Spanning 4 entries in the Monster World continuity and 2 separate Wonder Boy adventures, the Monster World Complete Collection is an extremely well-featured arrangement of not only the 6 games from genres as disparate as side-scrolling shooting and RPGs, but also the various arcade and home renditions of each title. Perfect emulation aside, the sheer amount of customisable options, new save-schemes, and wealth of scanned manuals, official / concept art and other extras, combined with its 2500-yen price point (as part of the renowned Sega Ages 2500 collective) make this a dream come true for anyone with fond memories of these games. In short, this is as ‘complete’ a collection as could be put together and, for its price, is extremely hard not to recommend. The individual games you will find here are, as per their western regionalisation, Wonder Boy, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair, Wonder Boy in Monster World and the Japanese-only Monster World IV. While all unique games in their own right, they are all based on the loose premise of a cyborg horde of aliens introducing ‘monsters’ to the otherwise peaceful ‘Monster World’ which was purportedly, according to the 5th game, ‘once a peaceful region’. Yeah right. Anyway, as mentioned, the two individual series’ became amalgamated somewhere along the way. Wonder Boy is the original Sega alternative to Mario (think pre-Sonic)- it features linear side scrolling gameplay where your character (a primitive caveman type) throws hammers at snails and attempts to cross a finish line before the time runs out. Basic as it was, its direct sequel, in Japan, was Super Wonder Boy: Monster World (Wonder Boy in Monster Land), a level based arcade action game with rudimentary RPG elements- you could collect gold and buy stronger equipment. These new features were expanded upon in Monster World II (Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap), which picks up directly from the end of the previous game (Symphony of the Night-style, except about 5 years before) and also introduces the ability to change between 6 animal forms with special abilities – Hawk Man can fly, and Piranha Man can swim. Also like Metroid and the mentioned Castlevania, the game relies on the various abilities being unlocked to allow access to new areas of a single large gameworld. This impressive achievement is topped only by Monster World III (Wonder Boy in Monster World), which takes these elements to a new extreme, as is quite possibly the best title in the collection. Monster World IV is almost like a step back. Although featuring some impressive animation and new platforming mechanics, it loses the magic and equipment elements that made the previous games so deep for their time. Monster Lair (localised erroneously as Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair) exists outside the Monster World canon, instead being a direct successor to the original Wonder Boy. That game’s side scrolling, time-dependant gameplay remains and is accentuated by portions of free-flight shooting. In part to alleviate the confusion arising from the nonsensical naming conventions, Sega has decided to incorporate not only the Monster World games, but also Wonder Boy and Monster Lair into volume 29 of its classic series. Confused about which game is which? It gets worse… It is a given that the original Japanese releases of these games would appear here. It was unexpected, though, that additional versions were slated to be included as well. So now not only is Wonder Boy’s original arcade version available to play in the Monster World Complete Collection, but so is the Sega SC-1000 home port, as well as the Mark III (Master System) release. The enormous graphical difference between the coin-op and home games should illustrate that this is not a trifling addition, particularly when you consider that the RPG contingents of the franchise are heavy on the Japanese text. Luckily for the kana-illiterate, the two big RPGs, Monster World II and III, have their English Master System and Genesis ports respectively included, and be played through entirely with full English text. Monster World II also benefits from the included English Master System release. In Japan, where the Master System had been discontinued, Monster World II was hastily ported to the Game Gear for the native version, which suffered not only lower sound quality output, but a lower-resolution display that stifled the on-screen action, both of which are remedied by the inclusion of its console cousin. Although it would seem no expense was spared in compiling this title, the PC-Engine remakes of some of the series constitute an obvious omission. From the MWII-derived Dragon’s Curse, which boasted a 16-bit environment as compared to the Master System and Game Gear’s 8-, to The Dynastic Hero, the enhanced version of MWIII with a richer colour-depth and a completely redone redbook audio soundtrack, these missing entries are a glaring hole in what is otherwise an impeccable round-up of editions. To Sega’s credit, those IPs belong to Hudson, who even released the Wonder Boy inspired Adventure Island as part of their own budget series a few years ago, and to use this point against the integrity of the collection is a very nitpicky whim on my part. There may well be more than 16 variations of the 6 core games to play on the one disc, which is certainly nothing to scoff at. In case it has not been mentioned in point, Monster World Complete Collection offers flawless emulation of all included titles. Fans who would like to pick apart compilation discs like these, finding places where there is slowdown or muddied sound as compared to the original cartridges, will come up empty-handed this time. Meticulous efforts have obviously been made to ensure that the games offered are absolutely perfect representations of the originals. Monster World II is an excellent example. Released in Japan on the Game Gear, and in Europe on the Master System, MWII is available here on both. However, if the game had been released on the Japanese Master System equivalent (Sega’s Mark III hardware), it would have benefitted from a specialised FM modulation chip that was not included in the consoles from other regions, and thus had a soundtrack that was significantly different. To solve the problem, you can play with the FM chip emulation turned on or off, which suitably exemplifies the level of detail in the emulation options integrated into the collection. All the standard fare is present here- screen size, stereo / mono sound, but each hardware has specific emulation options like the FM chip. You can disable the Genesis’ hard-coded sprite limit, for example, or deactivate slowdown that was present in the System 1 version of Wonder Boy. Another nice addition is the ability to select screen resolution and frame timing for each game individually, which allows you to set up a centred, low-res Game Gear configuration, alongside a 480p output for the Mega Drive, if you were so inclined. All of these settings are stored in a general ‘System File’. The menus are the lacklustre offerings that have become characteristic of the Sega Ages series. While there is a veritable treasure trove of content behind them, the plain blue and white typography belie it well, and border on offensive, given the quality invested in other areas of this release. On the positive side, they are by and large in plain English, so no confusing menus to navigate through. The only confusion (apart from each instalments various titles) to be found here is to do with a new feature called the ‘Suspend File’. Not available to all games, the ‘Suspend File’ is basically a dedicated save state that retires the laborious password systems of some of the titles. However, changing emulation settings and then saving a ‘System File’ will render your Suspend Files invalid. What’s more is that if a System File is loaded, Suspend Files can no longer be saved at all. Whether this is a bug or not would perhaps be clearer if I had been able to decipher the game’s kanji-laden manual, but as it stands, gives the impression of a broken feature. Any complaints about the menu or the outlandish saving methods will disappear when you first behold the unprecedented behind-the-scenes compliment of media. Although there is not much in the way of video features present, there is most everything else imaginable here. First off, manuals of each of the different versions of each of the different games have been scanned in from the archives. Various levels of concept art, official drawings and such are also included. Each title is also served with the usual compliment of BGM and SE galleries, which in some cases like MWIII, contain sound samples and tunes not available in the game, or in the roms of the cartridge releases either, which rouses many mysteries as to their original intention. A surprise feature are speedrun options for some of the arcade titles. All of this is unlocked right off the bat, mind you, with the sole exception of MWIV’s compliment, which is largely only available after clearing the game once. In all, the Monster World Complete Collection is hard to fault – it does everything that a good compilation disc needs to do effortlessly, and contains additional extras to boot. Although quaint and charming in their own way, the Wonder Boy and Monster World games admittedly haven’t aged that well. While they might bridle your interest for some hours, there isn’t a great deal of replay value to be had here. That said, like the bulk of Sega’s Ages series, this is aimed squarely at the nostalgic oldies, who likely played the games with the battery-packed cartridges they originally sold on, and it certainly delivers where it counts to its target audience. Even if you missed these gems the first time round, the 2500-yen pricetag ($26.30AUD or $21.20USD) makes the game a worthwhile purchase, and I would even have recommended it had it been sold for a slightly steeped price (to Australia, with shipping, it cost me less than a Platinum / Greatest Hits game, and less than a third of the price of a new release). Highly recommended. Controls: 8/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Graphics: 4/10 Sound: 7/10 Overall: 7/10 Grade: C Don’t let the grade fool you- it is mostly due to the fact that these are all 3- and 4-generation old games. But if you have a taste for the 2d realm, definitely give Monster World a go.

Did you gunning for the Limited Edition? I am still hoping that someone's credit card screw up and their payment did not get through on that day so that I can get my hand on it Nooo... I heard that was sold out ages ago. Ill settle for the standard copy.

God of War II - Read my REVIEW for my opinionz. Puyo Puyo! 15th - All the new modes add so much to the game... the old characters and tunes brought back good memories again. DJ Max Portable - Finally got my hands on this game, and yes it is as great as everyone else here says. Cant wait for number 2 on the 30th.

From what I gather... UK - March 30th Europe - April 19th Australia - May 3rd???

[3/19/07] God of War II for PlayStation 2 Game: God of War II System: PlayStation 2 Emulators: PCSX2 Although hailed by a surprising amount as the swansong of the PlayStation 2, God of War II does little to differentiate itself from what has come before it. Granted, the tight gameplay and breathtaking graphical presentation of the original God of War remain intact and its enormous production value - evidenced not only by the game itself, but also by the inclusion of a supplementary DVD containing a great length of behind the scenes footage – is nothing to be dismissed. It is unfortunate then that the significant time and effort spent refining what was already debatably the pinnacle of modern action gaming has failed to yield a game that is in any way noticeable superior to its predecessor. Further, a few tweaks to the combat system and all the new content do not disguise the surprising absence of numerous elements that made the first game so good. God of War II is undeniably an extremely polished and satisfying action game, but squanders the opportunity to have suitably expanded on the impressive foundation that had already been laid down for it. For the purpose of this review, there will be SPOILERS. However, I will try not to spoil any plot elements that you don’t discover in the first 30 or so minutes, BUT I will reveal later weapons, spells and other content that you may want to be surprised by. The foundation is the original God of War. As Kratos, a Spartan general who fights with the magical Blades of Chaos – ferocious weapons bound to his body by long chains that are seared into his forearms - you must traverse fairly linear environments and basically cut down the enemies that stand before you. This may sound reminiscent of classic old hack ‘n slash offerings such as Streets of Rage or Golden Axe, or even the more recent Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden games. It is actually a combination of the elements of both, but what sets this franchise above the others is the skill with which it is executed. There is no exaggeration in saying it is a sheer joy to play. God of War consists of light and strong attacks combined with blocking, grabbing, special moves, magic and dodging, and while that may sound somewhat complicated, the control scheme renders it extremely accessible to all. Each movement is rewarded by fluid animations and sound effects that make the strong attacks feel as though there is a weight behind them - the DualShock 2’s rumble feature is used to great affect here. Everything is necessarily bloody and some grab moves particularly barbaric. Context sensitive attacks flash random inputs on the screen at key moments as well, requiring you to be alert at all times. The technique was masterfully applied to the first game’s boss fights (and is also present in God of War II), making each a frantic but memorable experience – these jaw-dropping exchanges were one of the game’s most prominent features. RPG elements revolve around the collection of ‘red orbs’ from either chests or slain foes which are then used to upgrade weapons and magic ala Devil May Cry. Not only a novelty, some abilities change drastically when upgraded fully, and so it should not be ignored. Also shamelessly stolen from Dante’s outings, is the Rage of the Gods / Titans, which is basically like a limit break stance when you’ve filled your super-move-esque gauge up. Standard platforming and puzzle-solving elements round out the experience, and God of War II inherits most of these things untouched. It uses the same engine as the original, which (while tethering the title to the aging PlayStation 2) is a testament to its inherent strengths. Due to this, the game benefits from a strong foundation, if from little else. Plainly no effort was made to reinvent the wheel with God of War II. Not only is the engine seemingly copy/pasted from its forefather, but the same animations are used for the most part as well. Even the staunchest fan would be hard-pressed to find any, even slight, differences in the dress or appearance of the protagonist, which is considerably unusual. There have been a few changes, though, not all for the better. A good one to start with is the grappling point system. Small luminous effects are now placed on hooks, ornaments and various other things you’d be able to get a Blade of Chaos caught on. When near one, pressing R1 allows the player to throw their blade at it and swing on its chains, much like a vine. Being fairly forgiving, the mechanic is fun to use, although rarely necessary. Only a few designated places in the game require you to use the technique, but in fairness one specific implementation during a late boss fight is very well done and makes you wish the move’s potential had been better exploited in other areas. Another positive addition is legendary ‘golden fleece’. Once obtained, somewhere around the middle of the game, you will be able to ‘parry’ incoming attacks of all kinds by blocking just when the attack connects. If successful, Kratos can follow up by launching an invincible, high-priority attack against all nearby enemies, or, if the countered move was a projectile, fling it back at his attacker. What makes this feature so fun to use is that its input timing is lenient- think Dead or Alive 2, not Street Fighter III. There is also room to experiment with its use, since missing a parry and taking a hit is nowhere near as punishing as in the aforementioned games, unless of course you are playing on the game’s ‘Titan’ (Very Hard Difficulty) mode. The game’s special moves (executed by holding L1 and pressing a face button) used to be long automatic combos and were not very useful simply because you could be hit out of them at any time. God of War II’s replacements are far more usable, with either more damage or knock-down effects balancing their extended vulnerability. Special moves might be an improvement over the old, but magic is an area which has taken a step back. Two of the spells, Euryale’s Gaze and Typhon’s Bane are pretty much carbon copies of Medusa’s Gaze and Zeus’ Lightning, but the other two, Cronos’ Rage and Atlas’ Quake are pale in comparison to Poseidon’s Rage and Army of Hades that they replace. The bright side is that all the spells, except for Atlas’ can now be used while moving, and so will be seeing more use in battle than they used to or might have otherwise. Another feature that will no doubt see more use in God of War II than in the original is the new weapon system. Forget the Blade of Artemis- the new sub-weapons can be switched in and out by pressing the R2 button and are actually better than the Blades of Chaos in some areas. The first one Kratos will get his hands on is the legendary Blade of Olympus – the weapon used by the gods to defeat the Titans in the Great War of old. Not as long reaching as the default, and not quite as fast, the Blade of Olympus is obscenely strong, and when upgraded, is by far the most powerful weapon in the game, bar none. The catch to this one is, while you will use it to dispatch the first boss, The Colossus of Rhodes, you will have it taken from you, and will not recover it until the second play-through of the game. Its power is well worth the wait however. The second new weapon is the hammer used by the Barbarian King to almost kill Kratos before Ares’ intervention in the first game. It is a typically slow, strong single-hit weapon that can create shockwaves. At first glance is seems to possess a zero-MP replacement to the missing Army of Hades spell, but even when fully upgraded hardly matches that attack and is more of a distraction technique to offset the weapon’s lack of agility. Early in the game there is a sequence where you must tear a magic spear-wielding griffin rider from his mount. Later in the game his corpse turns up and offers the final sub-weapon, the audaciously-named Spear of Destiny to the player. Especially effective against the pesky returning satyr enemies, the spear is a long-range alternative to the blades that has a shotgun-like energy burst attack and is also able to plant explosive charges on the ground that are time released – many creative scenarios can be set up by this weapon. In all the weapons are fun to use and have their individual applications. Ultimately though, their creative design does not change the fact that the Blades of Chaos will still be getting you through the bulk, if not all, of the game due simply to the superiority of their design coupled with their ease of use and undeniable cool factor. Technically, the game is a marvel. I have often harped on about the age of the PlayStation 2, and there is no ambiguity about this game being a ‘last generation’ title, but still it manages more out of the hardware that runs it than any game in recent memory while consistently delivering large-scale, almost cinematic scenery, large numbers of enemies on screen and an unwavering 60fps framerate to boot. Some large models suffer from either blockiness, like the Steeds of Time, or low texture resolution, such as the Colossus of Rhodes, and there are vertical sync issues here and there, but it is mostly passable. Something that really adds to the visual presentation, though, is the uncontrollable camera that is perfectly positioned at all times. It should be obvious Sony sunk a large amount of money into this project, and so it stands to reason that its production value is unmatched on the current generation. Apart from the extraordinary visuals, which are now de rigueur at the house of Santa Monica, the game’s budget bestows on it another no-expense-spared voice track featuring impressive performances across the board. It does not have the cast of Tiberium Wars, but it is a joy to listen to all the same. There is no hammy voice acting here to mar immersion into the experience, unlike, say, in Final Fantasy XII. The soundtrack is still fantastic, but it invariably relies too much on remixes of Zeus’ Wrath Devine by Cris Velasco from the first’s battle against the legion of Kratos Clones. There is also a wealth of unlockables that puts other games to shame. First off, you can unlock Urns which offer different powers by finding them during the game. You can also unlock the Blade of Olympus by finishing the game. There are 7 different hidden costumes / characters to reward finishing the game, as well as other tasks, such as collecting 20 cyclops’ eyes. Challenge of the Titans replaces Challenge of the Gods as a scenario based final trial, and Arena of Fates is a new mode where you choose the terms, powers and enemies to duke it out with in a ring of your choice. However the icing on the cake, when it comes to presentation and extras, is the second disc, a dual layer video DVD, which is devoted solely to behind-the-scenes features chronicling not only the game’s development, but in-depth pieces on specific things – the design of Zeus gets its own feature, for example. The sheer amount of video here is unprecedented, and really makes you wonder why the making-of footage of other games was interesting at all. A tip of the hat also goes to the producers for not mandating the joke that is the ‘special edition’. All copies of God of War II sold in the United States and Canada come with this second disc as standard. Unsurprisingly, however, when we PAL regions get a local release, we will have to pay an additional premium for the extra disc via a special edition. So, in Australia, the $39.99USD I payed for the game would have turned into $99.99AUD ($79.68USD), had I decided to wait until April 13 for the local version. Bravo, SCEE. I just had to add this little outburst of bitterness- it should not overly detract from the great work the producers did here. Unfortunately, this is where the praise ends. Where the game’s design has garnered acclaim from me thus far, most of it can be attributed to mechanisms already left in place from the first game. From a creative standpoint, I would go on a limb to say that nothing added in God of War II is objectively better than what had already been seen in the first God of War. Additionally, it is my opinion that the quality of this game’s artistic design, as a whole, is significantly poorer than its forerunner, and were it not for all the positive technical traits it directly inherited, it would have sunk into the obscurity of other mediocre, forgotten titles. To really send this idea home, God of War II does everything conceivable to drive the franchise into the ground short of rewriting the game engine and starting from scratch. That maybe too harsh, but I truly believe an enormous quantity of postives from the first have been cast aside, and most of the opportunity to expand the mythos already establish squandered. Consider, first, the premise of God of War. The intention for Kratos to journey and become strong enough to kill Ares, the god of war, was necessitated by the fact that Zeus, king of the gods, had forbidden direct conflict amongst the deities. I am only spoiling the first half hour by saying that now, Zeus has decided he will just forget about that and kill this god of war all by himself. Err… Another thing – Athena claimed that Cronos was the last of the Titans, but now there are Titans all over the place – even the narrator from the first game turns out to be Gaia, the Titan of Earth. It poses the question of where they all came from, but more worryingly, suggests there was almost no intention to take the story in this direction during production of the original. Characters’ personalities and motives are also questionable if you consider the first game. Zeus, first and foremost, was portrayed as a kindly old pacifist who preferred to hide his limited involvement in affairs as much as possible; posing as a gravedigger. Now he is petty, vindictive and seemingly high on power. Cronos, who now aids the player, is another example. Before, he sought to destroy Kratos in his mission to slay the god of war, but now is more than happy help kill Zeus despite his general hatred of gods as opposed to a single grudge against their king. Their designs have changed too. Hades differed from the other deities with his tall, slender demon-like form and is now portrayed as a smaller squat humanoid who bears a resemblance to Death Adder from Golden Axe. In context these are insignificant gripes. Their indication of the creators’ disregard for the existing canon however is troubling, and extents into the general narrative. Shallow as the first game’s story was, it was fleshed out by gorgeously animated stylistic flashback sequences that gave a depth to Kratos and the relationships that set in motion the main events and prevented the experience from being as flat as it might have been. God of War II not only dispenses with those compelling cutscenes, it also skimps in the story department with regard to both style and substance. There is no legendary overtone to what little storytelling there is here which makes the absence even more glaring. Too many unknowns are left to the imagination. Clearly much has transpired between Kratos taking the throne and becoming truly resentful of the pantheon he is a part of. Even more is implied about the Titanomachy, of which only glimpses are shown, leaving gaps that are obvious and frustrating. The Titan Atlas refers to a previous encounter with Kratos, which has never been shown expressly or even alluded to, and yet is made quickly enough to suggest the player was intended to know about it. Plot holes abound, and are, honestly a much larger issue than would appear based on the space I have allocated to the topic. While spoilers prevent me from divulging more than this, I will say that one of the techniques employed is time-travel. A troublesome literary device to be sure, it is here so poorly utilised that, after finishing the game, even a brief discussion of events will reveal that hardly any of the narrative makes sense, put in context. It certainly falls short from the succinct, neatly resolved narrative that befitted God of War. To its credit, God of War II is paced out very well. There is just the right mix of mindlessly cutting through waves of fodder enemies, being trapped with a few powerful ones, solving puzzles, platforming around, and running into bosses or more complicated encounters. However, more could be done with that formula. Puzzles are almost identical, and in many cases, watered-down versions of the kind found in God of War. Spike puzzles, pressure plate puzzles… all have been seen before. The new ability ‘Fate-walking’ allows you to freeze time all around you to solve time-based puzzles when you see a green glowing statue of the Fates nearby. What could have been a very interesting puzzle mechanic instead comes off seeming like the creators just could not be bothered timing the complicated triggers for some of the puzzles, and instead copped out by offering the time-slowing effect in those certain areas. This is particularly obvious because only one puzzle in memory actually seemed like it needed the ability. Most of the time you will have passed the gate and be long gone from the puzzle arena before the timer runs out. Too easy by coincidence? All the puzzles are blindingly simple, maybe because I had solved a very similar version of each in the original game, except for one, which was blistering hard. In this scenario, you have to work a machine that makes the floor drop at the same time as the ceiling, incidentally layed with spikes, falls toward you. While you are doing this, skeletons keep spawning to impede you. One hit and Kratos stops manipulating the thing. Although working the thing is too clunky, combine it with skeletons that take forever to kill, and the swiftly falling roof (which is instant death if it reaches you, by the way) and you have a puzzle whose frustration-generating capacity rivals that of the Kratos Clone battle last time. I mention it because it stands in sharp contrast to the relative easiness of the rest of the game. All the while you solve these simple but drawn out tasks, the question is bound to beg at some point; ‘why am I doing any of this?’. Only a handful of non-combat tasks are integrated into the level or story in any meaningful way. One minute you will be trying to manoeuvre a phoenix’s egg into lava to birth it, and the next that trifle will be all but forgotten as you are forced into battle with a Kraken boss for no apparent reason. Speaking of bosses, they are almost as inconsequential as the puzzles. Personally, the Hydra and the Minotaur from the previous instalment were some of the most extravagant and satisfying boss fights I have experienced. Definitely a defining feature of that title, I had high hopes for the bosses this time round. Since the action opens to a set-piece battle with the Colossus throughout Rhodes (an overwhelmingly promising first impression), you might be expecting similarly impressive efforts throughout, but if so you will be disappointed. No other boss in the game comes close to the daunting spectacle of battling a giant as it destroys a city, or a sea monster ravaging a fleet of ships, but some are honestly no more than laughable. The previously mentioned Kraken looks like a hi-res Pokemon - its dopey expression had me questioning momentarily whether I was in fact playing a God of War game. Along the way some Greek heroes of myth are also encountered. Without naming names, the legends of these warriors are shamed by their portrayal here. Poorly crafted models as well as predictable (block three hits then do a combo, repeat – no joke) attack patterns bring into question why they were added at all – they have nothing to do with the story. Cameos of legendary characters also aren’t hip as far as I’m aware. Ironically, since you get the golden fleece, you might be expecting to run into one hero in particular, but guess what? You don’t. Funny isn’t it? God of War II is a great game mostly because it retains intact the game mechanics and technical things that made the original the 2005 Game of the Year. This alone more than makes it worth your time. My review has been coloured by the fact that, within all reason, this game could have been more. A lot more. Combat is largely the same, and the graphics are still impressive. The puzzles are a tad dumbed-down and the soundtrack is only half-original. That in itself is acceptable, but consider that the artistic cutscenes are gone, the bosses are less impressive, and that the plot is flat, illogical, in an overall different direction, as well as being in direct contradiction of the canon of the first game. These things are disappointing, and it is a shame that the franchise is now in Cory Barlog’s hands – he must be the only creative director in the industry who could possibly not only fail to properly expand on a game like God of War but also take it some steps backward in a few areas. But make no mistake – God of War II is very likely the best game to be released on the PlayStation 2 either this year, or from now until the end of its lifespan. It may detract from the original in more ways than it improves upon it, but considering how brilliant a game the first was, these failings are negligible in the grand scheme of things. Controls: 10/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Graphics (Technical): 10/10 Graphics (Artistic): 8/10 Sound: 9/10 Overall: 9/10 Grade: A You probably already knew whether or not you were going to buy the game before reading this review, but I’ll qualify everything I’ve said already by endorsing it anyway- go and buy it. It’s a no brainer. The only thing more certain is that you should own God of War if for whatever reason you don’t already. Just to be clear, if this game deserves a 9, the original almost certainly deserves a full 10.

Ive finished it and Ill have a review up in 24 hours. 3 new weapons actually, and a lot more bosses. And yeh the plot is left open for a GoW3 but the plot arc introduced for GoW2 is wrapped up nicely enough. Some SPOILERS- (content, not plot) Before my review, my basic feelings. GoW1 = quality, GoW2 = quantity. This goes for everything. Its a longer game, but is not long enough to justify the loss of those really nicely animated flashback sequences, the fact that the new magic is nowhere near as cool as the old, and that the much touted improved number of bosses hides the fact that maybe only 1 or 2 are even close to the quality of bosses in the first game. Most consist of either simple, small bosses, creatures that you don't actually fight, and human opponents, who look, battle and speak as though they belong in much lower-profile game. Also wrong with the game is the soundtrack that is largely a bunch of remixes of the first game (Zeus' Wrath Devine in particular) and a plot that just seems like it came out of nowhere, and breaks a lot of the mythology set down in the first game. Most of what you do in this seems even less relevant to the overall story than what you did in GoW1. No one really seems to have a motive for what they are doing, which becomes painfully obvious and annoying. To its credit, the great gameplay engine is tweaked slightly but for the better. The L1 special moves are more usable in combat. The new weapons, while still not as good as the Blades of Chaos / of Athena / of The Titans, they all are fun to use and workable enough. The Spear of Destiny is your typical longer range fighting tool and can lay down explosive charges on the arena. The Barbarian Hammer is a cool slow, powerful maul that can create shockwaves and cast the Army of Hades. Also the Blade of Olympus is your typical swordly mix of power and speed- you get a chance to use it in the first level anyway. Now you can swing on swinging points using R1 using your blades like a vine- a great feature. Never really used in combat, (except for one boss fight during the end) it definitely has potential. Also an item you get midway allows you to 'parry' moves and then react by throwing them back at the opponent or doing hi-priority counters and is another great touch- its is extremely fun to use. So its good and bad. It is not 'worse' than GoW1, but it has lost a lot of the tight mythology, great art design and direction, and basically a lot of the charm. I'll try and articulate better in my review but let's just say the Hydra battle was more exciting than most anything you will see in GoW2.

Hentai is a ridiculous extreme I don't fully understand either.

Porn warps your perceptions of sexual intimacy and power relations, reducing the likelihood that you will ever be satisfied by a wholesome, monogamous marital relationship. I guess it all depends whether that matters to you or society at large at all. I find it somewhat depressing but it's too late to do anything about that now.