GAME REVIEW: Lost Via Domus (Ubisoft) - Xbox360

Ach, this could have been SO good.

Ever since the Lost video game was announced a couple of years back, I've been looking forward to crashing on that island and discovering just what the hell is going on. Perhaps as Jack, perhaps as Sawyer, preferably as John Locke. What a shame then, that instead you play nothing but a bystander to the established Lost storyline. A bystander with a pretty non-descript and (by Lost standards at least) by-the-numbers back-story.

It starts well. The initial plane crash on the island is very well rendered and plays from a much more personal viewpoint than we've seen before. It's genuinely exciting. With the crash leading into the TV show opening titles, establishing the player as a part of the shows mythology is very well played and promises much.

What follows though, are seven 'episodes' (complete with "previously on Lost" recaps, opening titles and the closing 'boom' from the TV show) comprising of little more than rudimentary exploring, infuriating logic puzzles and pointless conversations with poorly voiced versions of the established cast. Sadly only a few of the original cast have lent their voices to the game, and the actors hired to play Jack, Kate, Hurley etc. are very poor. Unlike the, er, likenesses, which are pretty much spot on.

It's not all bad though. The graphics are actually very well executed - especially in the forest sections of the game, and - arguably - look even better than similar environments in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on the PS3. And, yes, for fans of the show there's no denying the thrill to be had from encountering the smoke monster, entering the numbers into the computer in the hatch, and stumbling upon the Black Rock deep in the forest. You'll even find yourself exploring a couple of locations that we've not (yet) seen on the TV show.

Your character's flashbacks are also implemented fairly well into the structure of the seven episodes, and pick up towards the end, developing into an interesting enough story of twists and fractured memories. Nothing better than we've seen on the TV show, though.

But these moments are not enough to rescue some annoying game play faults. You'll find yourself throwing the controller to floor in sheer frustration during the long (long!) and winding cave sections, and the fuse-based logic puzzles that crop up far too often. The dynamite carrying section is a particular lowlight and if you get passed it without more than a few harsh words, then you'll deserve the achivement points you'll rack up for completing that episode.

So, who should buy this game? Hardcore Lost fans will find enough to keep themselves amused. Casual Lost fans would be best to rent the title. As for everyone else - steer well clear. For a TV show which - especially during the current Season 4 - has never been better, this game does nothing but validate the cry's of "confusing!", "they're making it up as they go along!" and "what the hell is happening?" frequently levelled (incorrectly, in my opinion) at the TV show.

Truly, a wasted opportunity. (5/10)

THE GOOD:
- Succesfully captures the 'feeling' of the TV show.
- Impressive visuals.
- Well structured - if pedestrian - storyline.
- A quick way to grab an easy 1000 Achievement points.

THE BAD:
- Confusing logic puzzles.
- Poor character voicing.
- Very short.
- Adds nothing new to the Lost mythology.

Ignore this

This post is merely to test if I can submit blog posts via iPod Touch.

"Sitting at home in my pants."

In further proof that machines are taking over the planet and will one day rule over us in a tyranical mecha-droidal type way, my Xbox360 has now developed the capacity to produce its own blog.

I shit you not.

Over there on the right hand side of this blog you'll see the 360voice.com Latest Entry badge. The facts are these: everytime I fire up my 360, it will remember what I've played, how long I played it for, and - if I'm lucky - how many achievements I've racked up. It will then publish it to its very own blog - which you can see in full here. And also, obviously, to this blog right here you're reading now.

Confusing? Yes, frankly.

Nevertheless, all of this serves to show you that I can no longer tell little white lies about not being able to come out for a drink tonight "because I'm off to a fabulous party", because my 360's blog will quite blatantly tell you that I was in fact sitting at home in my pants kicking three shades of poop out of the Evil Overlord Zorg.

And yet, still I add it to my blog, because I'm such a bloody geek.

Me, eh?

Going back.

It's been a while, but with a New Year comes a renewed interest in updating my blog. Let's see how long it lasts...

This past couple of weeks, I've spent a lot of time back home in Scotland celebrating Christmas and New Year with friends and family. I took the opportunity while I was there to visit the old council estate I grew up on. It's a bit more run down than I remember, and it certainly feels a lot smaller than it did, but revisiting a place that meant so much to me evoked some vivid memories.

I've posted the video I made while I was there. Hope you like it.

More posts to follow...

Probably.

Thanks for the add...

Like almost everyone I know, I've gone all Facebook.

Not that I want to be a 'friend collector', but feel free to add me as a friend.

The name? Grahame Robertson.

GAMING: Halo 3

The first reviews of Halo 3 are appearing online now, and it's scoring VERY highly. It's certainly whetting my appetite even further for the next chapter in this extraordinary gaming franchise.

If I didn't have so much to do at work on Wednesday, I'd be taking the day off to play Halo 3, but as it stands I'll have to wait until 6pm, when I get home.

This is probably the most important gaming release ever, and if I can tear myself away from it, I'll try and post my impressions before the end of this week.

Oh, and if anyone is interested in setting up a gay Halo 3 clan - leave me a message either here, or on Live. My gamertag is monkeybaby360.

GAMING: Re-evaluating the Wii.

Ah, the Nintendo Wii. Still in demand, and still outselling the 360 and PS3. But ask most gamers who've had one for more than a couple of months, and they'll tell you they love it, but they just don't play with it anymore.

It's certainly true in my case. I've not turned the thing on for over two months. Hi-def gaming on the 360 and PS3 has highlighted for me just how rubbish the Wiii looks in comparison on my HD telly. Talk about snobbery, but after a bout of Bioshock or Warhawk in glistening 1080i, turning on the Wii feels like someone just covered the screen with a pair of wrinkled tights.

Today though, that all changed. It's been a horrible day here in Manchester. Cold and wet. Instead of going out, my other half and I decided to stay in and watch telly. Then he mentioned he wouldn't mind a game of bowling on the Wii. He's not a gamer at all, so I jumped at the chance to share one of my passions with him. Steady!

Four hours later and we were still playing it. We even played a nine-hole round of golf. And we had so much fun doing it! Then it struck me. The Wii levels the playing field. The reason my other half doesn't turn the 360 on for a quick blast of Bioshock is because he's afraid he'll screw it up. He's afraid his confidence will take a bashing because he can't memorise the controller configuration, or grasp the games physics. And let's face it, why should he?

The Wii throws all that nonsense out the window. My other half won most of the games of bowling we played because he understands how to pick up a bowling ball and throw it. And he's got better aim than me. The Wii demands only that you have a good time.

So, if I don't turn it on again for another two months, that's fine. At least I know that when I do I'll have a bloody good time.

GADGETS: You scratch mine.

The iPod Touch is, of course, a very beautiful piece of technology. Ground-breaking interface, sleek curves... everything an Apple product should be. But what we all really want to know is if the screen will scratch after five minutes of use, right?

Thank goodness then, that this very silly chap decided to test the strength and scrath-resistance of his iPod Touch screen with pins, keys and a razor blade, film it and put it on You Tube.

All in all it looks pretty resiliant, and reassures me that when my iPod Touch arrives next week I won't have to snap on the Marigolds before I use it.

Pride in our work.

Manchester is currently in the grip of Pride fever. For four days the Gay Village is transformed into an event site hosting thousands of locals and visitors celebrating Manchester Pride.

For the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF) - where I work - it's our busiest time of the year. We call it Gay Christmas. We've been preparing for it for months, and for many of the staff and volunteers the Parade is the highlight of the whole weekend.

I took my video camera into work yesterday to make a little video diary of everyone preparing for the Parade. The results of which you can see above.

Yes, I can see that your carpet is animated.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Sia is a very good pop star indeed.

It's an issue.

The new issue of outnorthwest is now in Shropshire being printed. I really enjoyed working on this one. Here's the cover.

This one celebrates 25 years of the Hacienda, amongst other things, and will be available across the north west from Wednesday 27th July.

If you're homosexual in any way, you might want to pick a copy up.

Flash!

Playstation 3 took a couple more steps to realising its potential today.

A recent PS3 firmware update promised PS1 game compatibility via downloads from the Playstation Store. Not only that, a firmware update for the PSP promised the same. But since then nothing much has happened to make use of the feature. Until today. Nestling nicely in the PS Store today were Wipeout, Crash Bandicoot and, best of all, Jumping Flash. These are all original Playstation games I remember playing... god, it must be nearly ten years ago. I guess they're officially retro now.

Of all those games, it's Jumping Flash (see video above) that holds the fondest memories. A pretty obscure early PS1 game, it didn't perform terribly well when it was released, but it was certainly original. Taking control of robot rabbit, called Robbit, the objective is to jump around various 3D levels collecting carrots. The level design is gorgeous, and verging on surreal, and to be playing it again all these years later is an absolute joy.

And, in a further boost for PS3/PSP synchronicity, it's also possible to download these PS1 games directly from your PS3 to your PSP (at no extra cost). Fantastic. I now have a pretty tidy collection of PS1 games I can take with me anywhere.

It might be a slow start, but the amount of time I spend on PS3 is now rivalling the time I spend on Xbox360. And it will only get better with even more downloads promised.


JUNK CULTURE

Music: Take It Like A Man - DRAGONETTE
Podcast: Mark Kermode - BBC
TV: Kyle XY - SEASON 2
Game: Jumping Flash - PLAYSTATION
Magazine: SciFi Now - ISSUE 3

Red Letter Day

I said in a previous post I'd let you see the new condom pack design.

And here it is.

You'll be able to pick the new pack up in a couple of months.

Nosey bastard

Due to the marvel that is the internet, I've added a couple of new features to the blog this evening.

If you look on the right hand column, you'll see two new additions - Twitter, and Just Listened To...

Twitter will give me a chance to add to the blog much more regularly, with short updates on what I'm up to. Even better, I can do it from my mobile phone, so look out for ocassional drunken message in there. If you've not seen Twitter in action, visit their site and you'll have a better idea of what it's all about, and why it's so popular.

Just Listened To is pretty obvious. Through LAST FM (a fantastic social-networking music site), you can check at any time of the day or night what I'm listening to (or what I've just listened to). It even knows what I've been listening to on my iPod. There will be some embaressing stuff there, I'm sure - especially during the hours I'm at work, but hopefully you'll see some music pop up on there you might want to seek out.

So there you. No part of my life is off limits it would seem...

I just walked in to find you here...

Hello. Long time no blog, eh?

There are any number of reasons/excuses I've not updated this for a while. None of which I'll bore you with; or even pretend you're interested in hearing about. Over the last few weeks though, a lot has happened.

So, here's just a random post about some of the stuff I've been up to...

GRRR! etc.
Been extremely productive at work the last month or so, primarily on a whole bunch of printed and design work for the Great British Bear Bash, which took place here in Manchester over the Bank Holiday weekend. I designed a Survival Guide for the Bash, along with production of fridge magnets, newsletters, posters and other goodies. They seemed to go down well with the guys who came to the Bash, so I'm very pleased with how that all went. It would be great to do more again next year.

Neon Condoms
As well as all the Bear materials, and the latest outnorthwest, I've also in the last couple of weeks designed a 56 page LGB rights guide (which you can download now from the LGF site); and also completely redesigned the new condom packs. If you're gay and familiar with Manchester, you'll have seen the free condom packs. Well, every year we redesign them because it keeps them 'fresh', and also, well, because we can. Usually it's a subtle redesign, but this year I've gone a bit mental. They're slight more, ahem, colourful and I'll post a sneak preview of them tomorrow.

Wales, isn't it.
I've just booked some time off to spend a weekend in Cardiff at the end of the month. And yes, it solely because of Doctor Who. I want to stand under the rift at the Millennium Centre, visit the Powell Estate, and go on the Doctor Who locations tour. I feel no need to apologise :-)

Open the Pod bay doors, Hal.
I've also been working on a brand new podcast over the last week or so with a very funny friend of mine. I'll tell you more about that in my next post... Needless to say, it's all very exciting. And drunken.

So, hopefully you can see why I've neglected this blog of late. Been a tad busy.

When I first started Vegetable Soup, I used to end each post with a list of stuff I was watching/listening to/reading etc. Then I slowly, and predictably, lost interest in it. But looking back over those earlier posts, it's actually quite interesting (to me, at least) to read. A multi-media snapshot of the time, if you will. So, starting from this post and until I lose interest again (probably around mid-August), it's the return of...

JUNK CULTURE

Music: Tony The Beat (Rex The Dog Disco Mix) - THE SOUNDS
Podcast: ZTT Podcast Episode One - ZTT
TV: Heroes (The Last Three Chapters) - SEASON 1
Game: Motorstorm - PLAYSTATION 3
Magazine: Death Ray

Bearing up nicely.

It's probably the hottest day of the year out there. I bet Canal Street is chocka.

It's also production week, which means I can't move away from the Mac until I've finished the new issue of outnorthwest. I've spent most of this morning working on the cover. That's it up there. This issue marks the 10th Great British Bear Bash in Manchester. Hence the bears. The BSI theme mirrors one of the videos the guys have produced for the Bash.

I think I like the cover. I've spent too much time looking at it to be honest. So I'm going to stop now. It would be nice to go out for a beer. But I have an article on gonorrhoea to design...

Tasty Bollox

Manchester, where I live, has a reputation for being a big homo-friendly city. What with Canal Street and all that.

Well Canal Street is a bit rubbish, to be brutally frank. The real reason Manchester is the best gay city in the world is a club called Bollox. Third Friday of every month at Legends. Good music, good crowd, good attitude. Bollox has, single-handedly, made me want to go to a gay club again. I was seriously bored and disillusioned with the gay scene until this.

That video up there? I'm in it! I couldn't be more happy about that. That's me in the white t-shirt in the middle and at the very end.

If you've never been. Go.

A tad over-excited?

The final episode of Battlestar Galactica's third season was a complete triumph. Some fantastic writing, and huge secrets revealed. It certainly makes the wait for the new season in January next year a long and hard one Fnarr.

However, as exciting as it was, it certainly didn't leave me as breathless and exciteable as this chap...



Bless him.

I think he might be a bit gay too.

Playstation 3: First Impressions

It's flippin' heavy!

Once you get past the loveliness of its sleek, shiny black curves, the first thing you notice about Playstation 3 is its weight. Imagine holding a really fat baby.

Initial set up was a doddle, and it was hooked up to my HD telly within five minutes of leaving its box. If you've got a PSP, you'll be familiar with the interface on PS3 - they're calling it the Cross Media Bar, or XMB. It's easy to navigate, but I have to say it doesn't feel as solid as the 360's Blade system.

Getting it online was easy too. Scan for a wireless connection, enter your WEP key and you're done. The first thing to do is download the system update, then on to registration. This took FOREVER! Entering text using a controller is a nightmare, and it must have taken a good 20 minutes to get everything set up.

Once that was all done, the fun really began. Exploring a new console is always exciting... "ooh, I wonder what that does", and PS3 is no exception. One of the best features is Remote Play, which works in conjunction with your PSP. This function allows you to watch video content and listen to music that's stored on your PS3 on your PSP. Using bluetooth, it works surprisingly well. You can even access the PS3's web browser, and buy stuff from the Playstation Store. This is a smart feature, and makes me wonder why Nintendo aren't exploiting the link between the Wii and DS yet.

Getting content on to the PS3, especially video, is tricky if you're a beginner. Best thing to do is download a free application called PS3 Video 9 on to your computer and use that to convert video files. Then just copy into a folder called VIDEO on to a USB memory stick, stick it into the USB slot on your PS3, and Bob's your uncle. I've already chucked 3 episodes of Lost and Battlestar Galactica on to the PS3, and with Remote Play, it means I can watch them in bed at night on my PSP! Marvellous.

Accessing Playstation Store will give you access to loads of free, and paid for, content. You'll find games, demos and videos, as well as in-game content to download. My recommendations? Blast Factor is worth a shot, and is very similar to Geometry Wars on the 360. You can also download a full version of the classic Lemmings for only £3.49, which is a bit of a bargain really.

So, what about the games? I'll do a couple of small reviews of Motorstorm and Resistance:Fall Of Man soon, so keep checking back. In a nutshell though, they're both great titles. Motorstorm looks amazing (better than anything on 360 at the moment), and Resistance? To be honest, nothing special and I've seen better on the 360...

All in all, it's a great machine with a lot going for it. The problem is though, that it's going to take a while (at least a year) before it can really take off. If it even does. The price point is way too high, and although there are a high number of launch games, there are just no must-have titles... yet. The sooner they get Home and LittleBigPlanet launched, the better.

THE GOOD
- Remote Play
- Media Handling
- XMB interface
- Playstation Store
- Online play
- Massive storage space
- Motorstorm!

THE BAD
- The price!
- The lack of killer games
- No rumble in the controller

Overall? If you can, you should ;-)

My iMix

Through the wonder of the internet and iTunes, I've created my very first iMix!

It's a selection of my favourite electronic tunes of the last few weeks, so why not click on the link below and have a listen? And if you like it, you can even buy it! It's only £8.69. Not a penny of which I receive, by the way.

Humph.