http://startgame.org

It’s gunna be great!

DJ Hero comes with 94 mixes on the disc as well as new mixes being released as downloadable content. The game consists of various set lists in which you play all of the mixes. Is also has online head-to-head and quick play game modes. It doesn’t sound like a lot and it isn’t.

First of all, and probably the most important thing, is the turntable controller. The design is simple but effective. You have the actual turntable which feels good when you are scratching it or triggering a rewind. The turntable does not have any lock meaning it can spin in any direction forever. The buttons on top of the turntable are also good as they are big and clear, but can be a little sensitive. You could lose your combo because of this, if your finger grazes another button. The cross fader, too, is a little sensitive; if you don’t guide it carefully back to the middle you will switch to the other track and, again, lose your combo. The effects dial works well but does feel a little cheap when you are using it, almost as if it would break after a lot of use. Finally there is the euphoria button. It is just a normal button, big enough to hit easily and doesn’t feel cheap. Overall it is a good, sturdy controller but some of the controls can be a bit annoying to use.

Despite there not being a lot of it, the gameplay makes this game what it is. The basic gameplay is similar to that of Guitar Hero. Different coloured gems come down the highway and you have to hit them using the controller. DJ Hero has a lot of different inputs that affect the music you hear. You have the green and blue buttons which affect the two tracks being mixed together, the red button that throws samples into the mix, the cross fader switches between the two tracks, the effects dial changes the sounds of the mix and scratching scratches the corresponding track.

The game itself is very similar to all of the other music games out there. It has songs that you play through in the career mode and then can replay them in quickplay mode, alongside an online mode. It’s not extensive by any means but it is still fun. The career mode is not really a career mode as there is no story. It is as simple as picking a character, which you can change for every set if you wish, and unlocking stars. The whole objective is to collect all of the stars in the game and that is it. Unlocking stars allows you to choose different DJs, outfits and decks. You cannot make your own DJ meaning you won’t feel any kind of attachment to any of the various DJs you may unlock. So basically the whole game is just about gaining 5 stars for every one of the 94 mixes in the game. So what is there to do after that?

After collecting all of the stars you can move on to quickplay. Quickplay mode allows you to play any of the 94 mixes, 8 at a time, resulting in a pretty standard quickplay mode. There are also 10 of the mixes in the game that allow you to play with a guitar controller as well as the turntable controller. It certainly adds a good co-op mode for those not wanting to pay for a second turntable controller to play DJ vs DJ mode ((given the RRP of the extra peripheral this may not be the most appealing nor sensible option to most gamers). The guitar gameplay is exactly the same as Guitar Hero 5′s.

The online mode is nothing new, nor does it have a lot of variation. There is one type of online game, head-to-head (you versus another online player). Whether you make a game, join a game or invite a friend to a game it is all the same mode. You can choose one of the pre-made setlists to play or you can choose a quicklist of up to 8 different mixes to play. The player with the most stars at the end of the set wins. Simple. The online could definitely have been improved with a few different modes. Maybe a 4 player head-to-head (to-head-to-head) mode would have been good or perhaps a DJ and Guitar vs. DJ and Guitar mode.

Overall, I think the gameplay is good enough to justify buying this game and I’m sure the flaws will be improved upon for DJ Hero 2. Hopefully the sequel will have more online modes and an actual career mode but as a first attempt at something new FreeStyleGames have done well.  They should be proud. DJ Hero is an exciting and fun experience that isn’t matched by any other music-based game that was released in 2009.

8 out of 10

Rock Band 2 is one of my favourite games and, in my opinion, far surpasses any of the Guitar Hero games. The gameplay is incredible and the constant stream of new downloadable content released every week is another reason to prefer it to Guitar Hero. The most important thing with any music game, though, is the songs on the disc and, for me, the 45 songs that are on LEGO Rock Bands’ Disc are all great tracks. As the soundtrack has be specifically chosen for the ‘younger audience’ there are some recent tracks from the ‘noughties’ such as The Kooks – Naive and The Automatic – Monster but there are also songs for all age groups. Bands such as Blink 182, Good Charlotte and Sum 41 for the teens and Queen and Jimi Hendrix for the older generation of wannabe-rockers.

The gameplay is exactly what you would expect, classic Rock Band. The notes come down the highway and you try and hit them. In comparison to Rock Band 2 there has been no change in the gameplay but a new game mode does offer something new. Rock Power Challenges are a new thing for the Career mode and involve you and your band defeating something with rock. Whether it is a building or a dinosaur you have to perform well in the Rock Power Challenges to defeat the ‘boss’ of the location. The gameplay is basically the same except you can’t use Overdrive or play Guitar Solos, Bass Groove and Drum Fills. The  presentation of these challenges are also different. You see more than just the band playing on-stage, you see the destruction of whatever you are trying to destroy. For example, the first Rock Power Challenge has you trying to bring down a building. Whilst you are playing you see the building starting to crumble.

The whole Career mode is totally different from Rock Band 2′s. The first thing you will notice is your Rock Den, a good variation on normal menus. From the Rock Den you can choose to watch past cut-scenes, replay Rock Power Challenges, Practice, buy new clothes and instruments, hire staff or just continue with the World Tour. The World Tour is not divided into Countries but divided into vehicles. As you get more and more popular you can afford better transport and travel further. You start off with a little camper van which can only take you as far as the local train station but soon enough you are playing in the jungle. After you have earned enough stars in one location you unlock a Rock Power Challenge which will then allow you to purchase another vehicle. Although it may seem unorthodox, it works really well.

The way you utilise your staff members is completely different from Rock Band 2. Instead of just hiring one member of staff at a time, which will help increase either your profits or your fan-base, LEGO Rock Band allows you to hire 10 staff members that will increase your studs (money) and fans. The staff members become more and more expensive to hire but offer greater rewards. It gets to a point in which you hire staff and after you play another gig, you have earned back the studs you spent. Another way to earn more studs and fans is to play special gigs that offer multipliers on studs or fans based on how well you play. These special gigs are things such as shooting music videos, playing charity gigs or even just doing an encore. Special gigs and Rock Power Challenges usually have a cutscene which shows why you are playing the gig. The cutscenes are genuinely hilarious despite being a bit cliché.

As I said earlier music games tend to be brilliant or terrible based on their track list. I also mentioned that, pretty much, every song on the disc was great. However, the same songs do seem to pop up 4 or 5 times in every venue. This can get really repetitive. This can get really frustrating considering the length of the tour mode. It is about 7 hours just completing the story and then you still have a good 70 gigs left to complete after that. The fact that only “age-appropriate” DLC is compatible with the game is sensible but stupid. Making all of the DLC compatible would have been a smart move as people would have more songs to play.

The length of the tour mode is enough to warrant a purchase of this game but with repetitive tracks, lots of incompatible DLC and the lack of any online modes may make you think a bit harder before opening your wallet.

7/10

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is Naughty Dog’s new PS3 exclusive that picks up about a year after the first one ended. Strictly speaking it starts in the future and you go back: it’s hard to explain. Not to worry though, Naughty Dog haven’t gone completely insane and given Nathan Drake the power of time travel, they have just gone slightly insane and made the first half of the game a living flash back. What was I saying? Oh yes, Uncharted 2. Basically it is a 3^rd person cover-based shooter with platforming and puzzling elements, which make the game feel very varied. Uncharted 2 follows Nathan Drake on a journey to find the hidden treasure of Shambala, where he’s competing against Zoran Lazarević, a crazy Serbian criminal who is determined to get there first and claim the reward. Confused? Let me break it down.

You start off the game, after waking up confused, in a train, bleeding. This is a great start as straight away it shows you how astonishing this game looks. The game starts you in the snow which is where this game looks the most realistic. The snow sticks to your clothes, your feet disappear in the deep snow and it sounds exactly like snow. After you get over how great the snow in this game is (about half an hour rolling in the snow will do) you take a look at your surroundings. A train wreck, a fairly severe one too. That also looks perfect, with flames and debris everywhere. Not much of the amazing gameplay to experience here but you do get a good handle on the climbing early on. It is shortly after this that you first fire a gun: The shooting feels exactly the same as it did on Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, but it was great then, so why change it? Another great thing which makes the game feel more realistic is the commentary from Nate, and others, whilst you are playing. Not really ground-breaking, but it certainly adds to the atmosphere of the game. This also happens a lot later in the game, when you have ‘friends’. They will interact with each other in realistic and genuinely humorous ways, made great because of the voice acting. Playing this game and watching the cutscenes is like an interactive movie!

The parts in which you have company were definitely my favorite. Not just because the enemies had someone else to shoot at besides me, but because the game really comes alive with two (or more) players, even when those additional players are AI. This is the main reason I love the online co-op mode. It has side missions that are completely different to the story missions, which, in turn, means this game can live on long after completing the story, with friends. I couldn’t think of anything better. These co-operative missions also include teamwork aspects, an example being where one player climbs up to a room and throws down a bookshelf for the others to climb up. There are also the standard gameplay aspects like shooting and climbing. Competitive online multiplayer is included, with Deathmatch and Plunder (a variant of Capture the Flag). Both of these modes give the game a much bigger lifespan and are great fun.

Uncharted 2 controls just like you would want it to. Running, jumping and fighting all feel fluid and accurate. Jumping between ledges seems a bit sticky, meaning Nate will seem to click into position when you jump at slightly the wrong angle.

Now I want to talk about the story for a bit. No, no! Come back! I’m not posting spoilers here but I found it a bit dull. Despite me saying that it was like an interactive movie, the story was a bit dry. Around every corner there is a cliché, and around every cliché there is a rather dull (but very movie-like) cutscene. There are some truly spectacular moments in this game, but none of them affect the story that heavily. To me, this game is great because of the action and the way it looks, not because of the story.

Another thing I find annoying with this game is the puzzles. Granted, there aren’t too many in the game, but the ones they do throw at you are annoying but gave a good break away from the gun battles and the climbing, which believe it or not can get repetitive, but if I start finding a game repetitive, I turn it off. I don’t need some boring puzzle to try and keep me playing the game. Nice touch, but no thanks.

Overall this game is a lot of fun whilst you are playing it but it can get boring whilst you’re not. Also, the puzzles let it down. It’s well worth the money if you’re going to play online; otherwise I suggest just renting it.

What’s good:

• Amazing gun fights
• Great looks
• Lots to do past the single player

What’s not so good:

• Not much lifespan if you don’t play online

8/10

When you first boot up EyePet you are greeted by a professor who, you will find, will guide you through setting up your room, hatching your egg (yeah, these things come from eggs) and showing you how to take care of your Pet. This information is more valuable than you would think, at first. You get taught how to feed, clean and entertain your pet before you are let loose and have to take good care of it yourself. The instructions you get are, obviously, very simple as it is aimed at the younger generation.

I look at this game as a game for gamers and for children, the ideal combination would be a gamer with a child. The children can spend ages selecting the perfect style for their pet but the gamer wont be bored with the variety of challenges available. It even adds that addictive element of medals. Quite simple really, the better you do, the shinier medal you get. As a gamer playing this, I instinctively went for the gold every time but, and I’m ashamed to say, some of those challenges are really hard. A good example is the bubble challenge in which you need to fill your room with bubbles. Doesn’t sound that hard right? Well with that pesky little critter running wild in your living room, popping all the bubbles it makes the challenge so much harder. I even found myself swinging my arms at my pet in frustration, but then it looked at me with those monkey-cat eyes and all my anger was gone.

On to the actual gameplay. You sit there, in front of your TV and camera with your pet. Much like the EyeToy games your movements affect what happens on-screen. If you gently caress your hand over the pet it will start to pur as you are stoking it. If you wiggle your fingers on the floor, it will pounce at you and if you wiggle your fingers in the air, your pet will jump. You also have a magic card, which is recognised by the camera and can become a number of things. A trampoline and a bubble monkey for toys. The card is also used for cleaning your pet, feeding your pet and checking your pet’s health. The possibilities are endless. Now the pet’s party trick, its artistic talent. Your pet, after a few pretty bad attempts, will be able to mimic your real life drawings on-screen. It is pretty impressive! When you unlock the magic crayon, things get really insane. You draw a car on paper then can drive the card on-screen. This ability also stretches to planes and spaceships. There also little things like a camera, which lets you capture the most memorable moments with your pet in a photo of a short video clip. You can change your pet’s style pretty vigorously and reminds me of LittleBigPlanet.

For me, this game is all about the challenges. Do some challenges to unlock new clothing or toys.  It is the medal system and unlockable that keep me interested in this game but I have one problem. Why does the professor have to interrupt you every so often to tell you that “EyePets can only have so much excitement for one day”? I mean, yes it is perfect for children when they should go to bed but they just want to “do one more challenge” but for a gamer, it gets quite annoying. Simple solution; quit then change the date on your PS3. Although quite annoying, it is the only way to play for more than 1 hour a day.

Overall this game is great! Worth picking up for £20 (Solus, £30 with the PlayStation Eye) especially if you have children who will love this game longer than I certainly will.