AKA “Medal of Honor: The Electronic Fun Game” or “How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Video Games”

I tried not to turn this into a diatribe on how derivative video games are. I kind of failed.

In a shocking turn of events, I’m back where I started. Three years ago I started writing, for the first time, for MSXBOX-World.com. Three years on, I’m back writing for them. Progress!

Anyway, here are some thoughts on Tiger Woods 11.

Since April, or selling Nidzumi, I’ve only penned two reviews. The second is for Split/Second on GamesAreEvil. It’s not a bad little site even if the front page needs a bit of a redesign. Anyway you should read it because I’m strangely proud of this one.

Oh and encase you were wondering the first review was about those men who kick footballs. Digital men though, they aren’t real.

Now that the veil has kind of been lifted on Daniel Lipscombe’s (Former Reviews Editor at Nidzumi) upcoming project, why don’t we blog about it? Naturally I’ll be covering the design of the whole process but I’m actually more excited about the prospect of writing for the site.

Back in the early days of Nidzumi I occasionally wrote features called Back In Time. Now BIT were short retrospective reviews of old games – basically just an excuse to indulge in a little nostalgia. I only wrote a few of them but the time spent going back with a critical mind on games like Blade Runner, Omikron and SimCity were some of the most enjoyable moments while running Nidzumi.

I’m really relishing the opportunity of going back through the years and reminiscing with some classics, digging out some diamonds in the rough and having problems getting old games to work. Alright maybe not that last pint but it’s an exciting time, a brand new site and all.

One of the most important questions within journalism is who is the right man for a review. One that I had to constantly ask myself while playing through the popular JRPG, Yakuza 3. Now I’ve said in the past how RPGs aren’t really my thing and it’s something that definitely came up with my criticism of Yakuza 3.

However, I rarely think that anyone is particularly wrong for a review. For example a few months back I reviewed Borderlands from a perspective of someone who doesn’t really play RPGs. Admittedly I couldn’t get too in-depth with the RPG half of the game but it put a unique spin on the review. I guess that’s what makes journalism so exciting, everyone has their own angles and opinions on things.

Now with that in mind, here is my Yakuza 3 review.

Be kind.

I wrote some words about MotoGP 09/10. For those who are too lazy to click on the link, it’s not bad. I haven’t really written much this year and I’m looking to step it up over the next couple of weeks with more words about Yakuza 3 on the way.

If someone was to tell me that the whole RPG genre was just a big ruse that everybody has been in on for years, I wouldn’t be surprised. Now I know I should paint every game with the same brush but after playing Yakuza 3 I’m struggling to find the appeal.

I’m just wandering between point A and Point B trigging the next 10 minutes of tedious conversation, while asking myself when does the fun happen. I’m all for narrative and character development in games but surely we’ve found a better way of telling a story in game than pressing x for the next line of dialogue.

Apart from Pokemon, which has a collectors appeal to it, I can’t name a single RPG that I’ve really thought Oh I get it. Maybe I just haven’t played the right one yet, maybe I’ve just had horrendous bad luck but the more I play, the more I doubt it.

Yesterday I popped into town for the first time in three months (don’t worry I haven’t been inside solidly I’ve been at uni, 250 miles away) and took full advantage of the terrible state PC games are in. As yesterday’s post revealed I picked up PES2009 for £2, the only one I’ve actually played but I also picked up Rome: Total War Gold Edition (£1), Broken Sword Trilogy (£1) and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (£3).

I have a feeling though this whole PC game business is just another one of my going home trends. Christmas last year I bought about seven Blu-Ray movies, I still only own seven Blu-Ray movies. Last summer, to coincide with the Dreamcast anniversary I went a bit all out and bought roughly twenty-five games, I haven’t played them since.

I hope that PC games aren’t this Easter’s trend but if I’ve rarely touched a PC game come next Easter, I won’t be surprised.

They run to a grid, look way to smooth and occasionally stumble on each other but there is something about, not only the players, but Pro Evolution Soccer instead. After buying it brand new from HMV for £2, I came to the conclusion that even though FIFA has far surpassed PES, I’ll always have a special place for it.

What I don’t understand is how Konami have managed to repackage the same game for the last five years. Eh, who cares, it’s still some of the best local multiplayer around – even if I did have to play it with a keyboard.

Come on, it’s like the most epic song ever. Easily the best song from Age of Empires at least, maybe not ever. Admittedly the midi version sounds better than this weirdly produced one but you get the jist.