A dietary staple of all video games is the sometimes overlooked mini-game. The short break they offer from the gruelling 9 - 5 of story-mode can either be welcomed as a quick slice of light-hearted fun, or are abhorred as a stodgy slab of game-play that must be laboriously tolerated before proper play can continue. Their appeal lies in the simple, repetitive nature of their goals which can be replayed for hours on end in addictive sessions with players growing in skill and speed and being genuinely proud of their exploits. Everyone can follow the storyline of a horror game or complete a race enough times that they eventually win but there is a certain amount of dignity in a quickly achievable high score. And this is almost the mantra of the earliest video games which offered simple, quick entertainment that proved highly addictive and charming.
Top 5 Mini-Games
Fishing - Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
I think the beauty of the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time fishing game lies in the beauty of the open world and the bizarre calm that's created through a virtual fishing session when compared with the manic mashing of buttons you've just come out the other side of in the Water Temple. Out of all the mini-games unlocked at various stages of the game, fishing has to be my favourite.
Mercenaries - Resident Evil 4
Whether you're going through a zombie dry-spell or you just want to blow some undead faces off, Mercenaries drops you in a zombie infested war zone with a time limit. Kill as many as you can and gain a score you will definitely be disappointed with. This mini-game was so good it won its very own 3DS spin-off but gained mixed reviews when released for a slightly high retail price.
Crash Bash
Slightly cheating, but this game deserves it. So no, Crash Bash isn't technically a mini-game in itself but rather a collection of Crash Bandicoot mini-games compiled onto a loveable PS1 disk. Move through several different warp rooms and discover the delights of 4-man air hockey, painting floors with pogo sticks and desperately avoiding being trampled by a tonne bell while maintaining your spot on a tiny ice glacier.
Monkey Wars - Super Monkey Ball Touch and a Roll
Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll on Nintendo DS had many download play mini-games that I devoted a lot of time to mastering. Possibly the best, though, was Monkey Wars. A first person shooter monkey-style in which one player flings fruits and pies at their opponents, the game was horrifically competitive and has broken many a sibling relationship.
Pong - Test Drive Overdrive
Test Drive Overdrive brought classic back to PS2 with a playable version of the classic Pong game on its opening screen. Most of my childhood was not spent playing Test Drive Overdrive. It was spent playing Pong on the opening screen.
It's Wednesday 13th August next week, and that means it's the release date of the PS4 console port of Surgeon Simulator in a special 'Anniversary Edition'. Why is this exciting? Partly because Surgeon Simulator has been used as an appropriate form of anger management since its PC release in 2013 but also because this PS4 version will include all the best features of the Steam and iPad versions. Not only that, but in this surge of Surgeon Simulator madness, the game will also be coming to Android on the 14th.
It won't be as difficult to part with the £8.99 or $12.99 required to purchase the game as it will be to pass even the first few levels without some hefty lawsuits (how is it even possible to be that clumsy AND shakey at the same time?).
Bossa Studios initially developed the game in a 48 hours period for the 2013 Global Game Jam, continuing afterwards for a further 48 days in order to create the terrifying ordeal we now call a game. After releasing a version designed for iPad with more features, the new PS4 console port will apparently include a previously unrevealed mode.
New details have emerged concerning the production and development of a film adaptation of best-selling game The Last Of Us. Neil Druckmann, the producer of the original game and now the lucky screenwriter for the film has revealed that the story will focus more on the relationship between Joel and Ellie in an effort to condense 15 hours worth of gameplay into a 2 hour film. Which is actually quite a challenge considering the sheer amount of plot depth that The Last Of Us has to offer as well as the fact that whatever poor Druckmann does with the film, it's going to be difficult to please the people who want to explore more of the universe of The Last Of Us as well as those who simply want to enjoy seeing their beloved characters and plot
come to life. Perhaps this is why so many video games simply do not cut it as films - they can either step away from the actual gameplay themselves and simply use the marketable title and the expected themes to propel themselves, or they can become a remake of the actual game itself and risk boring players who have been through it several times, got the collectables and won the trophies.
It seems like this film is in good hands though, with Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) also at the helm of production and with Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) being heavily considered for the role of Ellie. The risk lies in the players' love for the game and the difficulty of recreating the feeling of experiencing something ground-breaking for the first time simply because of the fact that it is no longer ground-breaking.
It seems however, that Druckmann (who has pretty much been given complete creative control by Naughty Dog) is not simply remaking the game into a film - he's focussing on different aspects of the storyline and the universe of The Last Of Us in an attempt to please everyone's oh so high expectations. He's got a challenge ahead of him though - he's got power over one of the biggest topics in the video game industry at the moment and the expectations of so many fans resting on all his decisions, so as Sam Raimi's Spider-Man taught us - with great power comes great responsibility. (Well it was actually Stan Lee but they said it in the Sam Raimi film and that would fit my point a lot better...).
Once upon a time I made a vow never to give The Sun a second of my time but I couldn't let their latest well practiced dive into sensationalism slide. Their latest headline claims that video games are 'as addictive as heroin'. Not only are most of their assertions flawed but it's almost guaranteed that some of The Sun reading population will take their hype as gospel and use it to fuel their Daily Mail induced ignorance.
While, yes, there are a small minority of people who would be technically recognised as addicted to video games, it is worth bearing in mind that this is indeed a small minority of gamers across the whole world. In fact, the market we usually expect to be most 'at risk' - young adults and children - will rarely display any signs of addiction to video games more so than they would watching a favourite TV show or reading the next book in their favourite series, let alone the whole 'nation' being 'gripped' by video game addiction.
Not only is the article frustratingly exaggerative but it's taking hearsay research findings that themselves are taken out of context. So many everyday substances are said to be as addictive as heroin including, ironically, the actual sun - as in the giant orb of fire. The Sun suggests that Britain is in the grip of a video game addiction epidemic - a far cry from the reality that is a lot of people like to play video games, like a lot of people like to watch films or listen to music or read books etc. etc. etc.
To equate video games and heroin seems like a pretty perfect example of journalism jumping on the anti-gaming bandwagon. I'm not going to go on about the demonisation of video games in the media - we've all been around to see that and have our own opinions on it. But it seems that mainstream media these days will publish a story like this as a safe bet that it will feed the already prominent views held by similar papers and breed either fear or anger in its readers - both of which are valued.
It's the gaming industry's favourite speedy l'il hedgehog's 23rd birthday today and he's all grown up. To celebrate, we've compiled a list of 23 strange Sonic facts that delighted and, in some cases, terrified us.
1. The Anti-Piracy Message
Apparently, the makers of Sonic felt very strongly against the piracy of their games (as they should) but these guys took it to a whole new level with the message "fun is infinite, Sonic enterprises" appearing accompanied by a picture of Sonic that will bore into your soul and some equally disturbing tunes to go with it.
2. Sonic's Comic Career Is Seriously Underrated
Sonic's Archie Comic series is still the longest running comic book tie-in having been running since May 1993 with 259 issues to date. The comic series was recognised in 2008 by Guinness World Records.
3. Sonic Was Nearly Never Sonic
Instead of the loveable rogue we know today, Sonic was almost "Feel the Rabbit", a star-like creature that utilised its ears to do most of the legwork we see today. This idea was thankfully scrapped and later used as inspiration for Ristar.
4. Michael Jackson's Involvement
It's not been confirmed by Sega, but Sonic The Hedgehog 3's soundtrack may have been composed by Michael Jackson explaining the similarities seen in the game and in Jackson's music. Apparently Michael Jackson is not credited in the game because he wasn't happy with the way it turned out but Brad Buxer (Jackson's musical director) has confirmed the rumours.
5. Sonic's Original Name
Sonic's original name was Mr Needlemouse when he was but an original concept. "Project Needlemouse" was then used as the official codename for Sonic The Hedgehog 4.
6. Hidden Playable Characters in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Wii
Hackers have found several characters such as Birdo, DK, Silver and Jet that are playable throughout certain stages of the games. Some of the characters are missing features due to being unfinished in the game's development but there are a whole host of characters to be used.
7. He's Pretty Damn Popular
In a poll taken in 2008, Sonic was voted the most popular video game of all time in the UK with 24% of the votes - a somewhat surprising 3% more than Mario.
8. ... But Not For Long
In 2011, Guinness World Records placed Mario at the top of their popularity leaderboards, with Sonic falling at 10th place.
9. Fangs
Sonic was originally designed with fangs that were removed to soften the character's appearance for the US market, however these can still be seen if he opens his mouth.
10. Alex Kidd
Alex Kidd was Sega's mascot before Sonic was on the scene but he was demoted after Sega decided to seriously compete with Nintendo.
11. Doomed To Fail?
Sega of America originally considered Sonic as a risk and thought it was doomed to fail. This was because they thought that Americans wouldn't know what a hedgehog was.
12. Recent Highest Score
On the 17th February 2014, Matthew Felix scored 1309290 on Sonic the Hedgehog - the highest score ever recorded.
13. Swimming Strife
One of Sonic's biggest weakness is his inability to swim, but this flaw was based on a mistake made by Yuji Naka who assumed that hedgehogs couldn't swim. It's kind of amended though because hedgehogs can swim they just can't get out of water so I can see where he's coming from...
14. Suicidal Sonic
In Sonic CD, if Sonic is left idle for 3 minutes he will jump into oblivion and commit suicide - bit extreme.
15. Yuji Naka's Birthday
To unlock the level select screen in the Sonic 2 screen test, the numbers that must be entered are 19, 65, 09 and 17. So it's no coincedence that Yuji Naka's birthday is 17th September 1965.
16. Macy's
Sonic was the first video game character to feature as a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1993, the only other video game character to be featured was Pikachu 8 years later. Sonic's balloon then reappeared in the 2011 parade to celebrate Sonic's 20th anniversary and then again in 2013.
17. Cameos
Sonic has had cameos in various other games including The Simpsons Game, Tom and Jerry, The Incredible Hulk and Ultimate Soccer.
18. Nintendo Rage
Nintendo took a swipe at Sonic by including an unmistakeable pair of red shoes in one of its Donkey Kong Country 2 screens displaying video game heroes and placing a sign next to them suggesting that Sonic was a 'No Hoper' in the competition.
19. Object Interaction
The game was originally based around object interaction in so much as Sonic would use items around him to defeat enemies - throwing and dodging attacks using what was available to him in the game. However, this was changed due to the fact that it slowed gameplay too much for a character based around his speed.
20. Fresh Debut
Sonic made his debut as an air freshener in the 1991 arcade game Rad Mobile before his iconic video game series.
21. Birthday Confusion
Somewhat ironic is the confusion created by the Sonic comics over Sonic's actual birthday. It is assumed that his birthday is 23rd June 1991 (the reason this whole post exists in case you missed that) but the comics have cited Christmas Day and Boxing Day as Sonic's actual birthday - intriguing...
22. He Has No Neck
You can't unsee it - and you will always be haunted by it just as I have for an unreasonable amount of years but there's no escaping it, Sonic The Hedgehog has no neck.
23. He's Made His Way Into Medicine
One of the three signalling pathway proteins in mammals has been labelled Sonic Hedgehog Homolog as a nod to the iconic game series and even better, the potential inhibitor to this protein is called the Robotnikinin.
I know i'm dangerously addicted to The Sims, in fact it's not uncommon for me to create elaborate backstories that often involve countless family trees and creepily detailed memoirs for each one of my poor subjects. Yet, when the first ripples of The Sims 4 rumours began to bob towards the shores of my attention way back when in May 2013 I understood that I probably wouldn't get my hands on the software for at least five years after its release. My reasoning behind this was born out of experience as it was only last year that I managed to gather the disposable income required for The Sims 3, some 4 years after its release in 2009. My reasoning behind this was also painfully correct, as The Sims 4 has been tagged with a £70 pre-order price that is desperately out of my student reach. I can still revel in the new features of the game however and that is just what I have done with my new-found post-exam freedom. It's certain that The Sims 4 has a lot to offer us, even if all of these new features just contribute subtly to create a game that's more realistic and therefore more immersible than ever. We've had several exhaustive lists of all the different features of The Sims 4 but what do these features actually mean for overall gameplay? Well, reader, I give you your long awaited answer... Create-A-Sim - This life-creating workshop has been given a make-over in itself with new controls that include the ability to physically drag and mould physical characteristics of Sims. Not only does this unlock a world of potential creativity but also means, sadly for those who have always struggled to make Sims that look anything like individuals in the real world <cough>, there is absolutely no excuse for Sim-you to look nothing like real-you. Sim Individuality - A big focus of The Sims 4 is on the uniqueness of your individual Sims - each individual has their own set of characteristics and emotions that come out in more realistic expressions of body language and interaction with objects and people with the general physicality of Sims becoming much more life-like. Fluidity - In general, socialising is a lot more streamlined alongside other activities and behaviours. This is primarily brought in through the use of the multi-tasking tool presented in the game which acts to create more fluid, less blocky gameplay. No longer will you have to hang up the phone before starting dinner, or have a lovely conversation with a friend while your mother stands still next to them staring at you in silence (but if that's how your Mum rolls i'm not judging) because now all those things can happen all at once - integrating interactions in such a way that makes gameplay look a lot more practical. - Not only are interactions a lot more streamlined, but general movement now works on a 360° axis meaning your characters aren't going to get stuck in that obviously non-manoeuvrable space between the dining table and the wall. Realism - A running theme through all of Maxis' adjustments is a higher element of realism throughout the game - it's what all these developments have led to. Having different clothes and decorations evoke different emotions and behaviours from Sims is a leap of pure genius in the way of the authenticity and coupled with longer lasting effects of traumatic incidents - divorce, death, alien abduction etc. - creates more well-rounded, engaging and independent Sims. Segregating relationship types between Sims has also taken a leap in terms of realism with a distinction made between feelings of romance and friendship making for some pretty interesting dimensions of gameplay.
A Word About Realism - I must admit, however, that this is where Maxis confuse me somewhat. While I appreciate that The Sims has always thrived on a balance between the painfully realistic and the nonsensical absurd I feel that with these new developments so obviously aimed at bringing more realism to the game it feels strange to have bizarre new features of gameplay such as Sims laughing themselves to death, keeping a spare rocket ship in the back garden or resorting to voodoo dolls to fulfil their wishes. To begin with I was concerned that Rachel Franklin's intent to make the game more realistic would be undercut by these new fantastical elements of the game that are considered cartoonish. However, it has since occurred to me that this is how The Sims works, and a higher level of authenticity in the game might serve these outlandish dis-realities well - creating more vivid and emotional stories based around these bizarre happenings and expressing a higher level of what can only be described as how-would-I-react-ness that will definitely be fun to play around with. Overall i'm trying (and failing) not to get too excited about The Sims 4 as I know the price-tag is far from my tiny reach but give it five years or so and expect to see a pretty awesome review ;)
Click to go to Sims Globe for a comprehensive list of all new Sims 4 developments and features
It had never really occurred to me before stumbling across an article on Nintendo's Tomodachi Life, to consider the role the LGBT community plays within the video games industry. It was only when this matter was brought to attention through Nintendo's apologies surrounding the lack of possibility for same-sex relationships within this game that I really thought about video games as an expression of these ideas.
Nintendo recently issued a statement of apology after they were criticised for ignoring the possibility of same-sex relationships in the English-language editions of their life simulator video game Tomodachi Life and were unable to change the game. This exploded a whole can of hate from Nintendo fans and saw Nintendo once again under fire from gay rights organisations.
As sad as it is, I can't remember ever playing a game which included features of homosexuality and it's perhaps even sadder that before this day I hadn't even noticed the absence from my gameplay experience.
GLAAD CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis suggested that Nintendo "catch up with peers like Electronic Arts, which has been inclusive of LGBT gamers for years". Unfortunately it was not always easy for EA to incorporate such themes into their gameplay seamlessly and often LGBT content is subject to furthering the normalisation of heterosexuality rather than homosexuality, leaving the homosexuality to be considered a gimmick, censored or plain ridiculed. EA came under fire after introducing LGBT characters into their games in the first place with comments plaguing forums and message boards because apparently the inclusion of this facet of reality is "another clear example of the gay agenda in a place it doesn't belong" according to one particular individual. Because obviously the very real "gay agenda" (whatever that means) has no place in a representation of the real world. Because why should video games, now an established art form (see Video Games vs Art), be exploring ideas and themes that need to be explored and addressed in the 21st century? Because how little credit can we give these new generations of gamers that we can't even trust them with an understanding of homosexuality as commonplace? Because that's what it is - a fear of pissing off the young, white, heterosexual male gamer who is obviously the only reachable market. (Sarcasm over).
So I took it upon myself to take a pre-revision look at the changing levels of inclusion of the LGBT community in the video games industry, which ended up becoming a trawl through an irritating amount of tedious game changes throughout the 90's - I apologise to my exam grades in advance.
- In 1992, Nintendo refused to sell Dragon Warrior 3 on any system until Enix removed a gay bar...
- Later in 1992, minor enemies who happened to have been written as homosexual in Final Fight for Sega CD were censored...
- Streets of Rage 3 featured a gay villain wearing Village People attire (because why not) who was removed and a transsexual villain was changed simply into a man with long hair losing so much character depth and making the whole ordeal a lot less interesting.
Bioware have, in a way, led an LGBT gaming revolution, taking charge with LGBT relationships in Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Skyrim which all seem to take the significance of openly gay characters in their stride as just another facet of character. From what i've heard it sounds like I need to get playing Mass Effect 3. The fact that Cortez's sexuality is laid so bare right from the start of the game maps some pretty hefty progress since the days of ironing out a gay bar. Dusty Everman, writer of the relationships featured on the game, pretty much sums the game's refreshing nonchalance up when he says "I believe that by the 22nd century, declaring your gender preference will be about as profound as saying, 'I like blondes' - it will just be an accepted part of who we are". The homosexual relationships are given just as much time, effort and exploration as the heterosexual - they are normalised through comparison and similarity which is possibly one of the most exciting steps i've seen in the video games industry in a long while.
We basically need more of this, and with motivated producers within the industry itself, a sophisticated audience and the correct representations the games industry can wake up to the change in attitudes that it now has to face. Games are drawing more and more upon mainstream culture and are now viewed as a modern art form thanks to their inclusion in Bafta categories however in the words of Spiderman - with great power comes great responsibility. As the sincerity of their authenticity and opportunity for creative expression grows, games are beginning to explore essential social issues that need to be addressed. As homosexuality is normalised in mainstream culture, it will follow that it will be in the art that surrounds that culture - with video games sadly trailing behind film, literature and music.
"Imagine the impact games could have... for gay people to enter fantasy worlds to make homes and hold hands with partners of choosing regardless of gender, they move beyond the passive world of television into the active world of gaming, heightening the impact" - Luis, A Ubinas - Electronic Arts' Full Spectrum awareness event in New York
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