Old Games

Just so that you're clear, this is a distraction. I have been trying to write an essay for about an hour now, and the only thoughts that popped into my head during that hour are as follows

-'SHIT I FORGOT HOW TO WRITE'

- 'I need tea'

- 'Why do people value old games so much?'

People, I have the answer - (I remembered how to write and am just boiling the kettle - so very English) - people value old games purely because they want to. It's nostalgia that makes us download from virtual console, or hunt for the oh-so-ancient ps2, not the gaming experience. From what I've played, Super Mario Galaxy is far more superior to Super Mario Brothers on NES, yet any Mario gamer is sure to gleefully express the fact that they have a copy of the outdated fossil of a game. Because that's what it is, a fossil. In the same way scientists are desperately trying to find new remnants of dead stuff from when dinosaurs were the shizz, gamers are desperately trying to get a feel for the old style games. But the truth is that will never happen anymore, unless you own a console that they were first played on that is. The very fact that you are playing the game on a Nintendo Wii makes the game different. The feel is different, the sound quality will be better, and the picture will almost certainly be bigger. Yet still, every self respecting Nintendo child will lovingly embrace their NES Super Mario Bros, caring for it's blocky gameplay and orangey appearance, because it reminds us that somewhere, deep down we are playing a game for the sake of the game. Not for the sake of beating others in terms of killstreaks or God forbid for the soundtrack. Instead, when we are playing Donkey Kong for NES we are reminded that simplicity can be bliss, and like parents, think back to when games were little bubbas compared to the 3D giants of games that they are today.

iPod Under Pressure

Now, i think i'm right in saying, and please, correct me if i'm wrong, Nintendo and Apple are on a par in the famous world. Apple are really trying to push a lot of their products at the moment as games consoles. I'm not opposed to a good old bit of technological convergence, but the quality of games played on an iPod or iPad just don't match up to the quality on Nintendo. This is because the iPod is primarily a music playing device, which ever way you look at it, back in the dark ages of iPod classic, before the word 'App' was really in common usage, people bought Apple products because that was the new MP3 player of the time.

But now that more and more games are being thrust upon the mighty iPod, people are expecting more and more, and their expectations can never be met for the price of £2.50, a few mega bytes and a 320/480 pixel screen. Soon, the iPod will have a huge mental breakdown, crumble under the pressure and start throwing itself off of docks across the world. There'll be a massive file sharing apocalypse and we'll all be left picking up the pieces, listening to those things we used to call CD's and buying radios.

Anyway, I see people constantly moaning about the lack of content or gameplay hours, or the storyline of a game that they bought online and paid about £2 for. You don't buy games for an iPod or iPhone to play heavily, they're good for if you have 5 minutes to kill waiting for the train, or if you're stuck in a particularly boring section of life, such as an assembly or Critical Thinking lesson. Help save the iPod and buy Nintendo games if you want to play hardcore - sort it out UK... not pleased...

:)

BYE

SSX World Tour

So, to kick start this brand spanking new blog, let's talk about a PS2 game that has been, as many PS2 games have been, overlooked. My first impression of SSX World Tour was that it was a lot like SSX Tricky, it's more famous younger brother, however it was a lot more personal to your actual snowboarder. For example, no longer do I have to choose between a Canadian 13 year old called Marty and obvious anorexic lesbian Elise. I create my own, skinnier, definitely more athletic and taller snowboarding version of myself. G
ameplay itself is not as quick as Tricky, nor is it as detailed. But there's something about the way you can progress through the levels that makes the game so... playable. It sounds wierd but some games give you the individual satisfaction of moving forward, of completing at least one task in the day while some others let you mope about in your own sad world of non-completion, googling what you're supposed to do and running round in virtual circles. I was wary of World Tour after buying SSX Blur on Wii on which I will shortly create a heated revant (review / rant), however, it has proved itself to be a worthy 15 minute escape to a

virtual snow world where you can defy gravity, survive 100 foot jumps and remove pedestrian ski-ers' hands with your trusty expensive snowboard.