A Festive Musical Interlude

The graphical debate pops it's head up again!!

Ever since the release of the Wii there has been a debate of graphics vs gameplay. The Wii owners will argue that it's the way you play the game that makes the machine relevant, while the 'next gen' contingent claim that graphics help to suck you into the game.

To some extent I agree with both of these statements, but lately I have been pondering this debate more.

Y'see, Codemasters are the source of my musings. I have always loved Codies right from the C64 days of BMX Simulator and the Dizzy series but I have started to get a little disappointed with them of late. The problem comes with this current gen of machines and in particular their Wii releases. The problem started with Dirt 2. As a big Dirt fan on the 360 I was really looking forward to applying some Wii steering wheel loveliness to the hardcore rallying action. Things looked promising as this is a driving game and Codies do some of the best road based games of recent years. Games like TOCA Touring Cars on the original Playstation, Race Driver on PS2 and Grid on 360 have proved that for high speed thrills you can rely on Codemasters to produce the goods.........until now.

Put simply, Dirt 2 on Wii turned out to be a complete dogs dinner!! Codemasters decided to hand development rights over to Sumo Digital rather than develop in house which didn't exactly go according to plan. Graphically the game was average, and before I hear the cries of "THE WII ISN'T ABOUT GRAPHICS" I agree. The problem is I love using the cockpit view in racing games, I find it the most exciting way to play, so for this game to omit the cockpit view completely is terrible! Just to get this into perspective, TOCA Touring Cars on PS1 managed to have a cockpit view, PS1 FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!! I have also seen what Sumo can do with Outrun 2 on the original XBox, it's gorgeous! This isn't a case of the Wii having less power, this is a case of developers being lazy! All of this may have been forgiven if the motion controls worked but the steering couldn't keep up with the pace of cornering needed in the race. Overall a massive disappointment.

So now Sumo are at it again, this time with a massive F1 license. This game at least ticks most of the boxes, the steering controls are spot on and it has the cockpit view I wanted. It's fairly smooth and chugs along at a blistering pace. So far so good then, but why are the graphics poor again? Luckily this doesn't seem to detract from the gameplay which is the most important thing, but don't devs think that Wii owners are worth the extra effort? I can't help feeling that after all this time some developers have still got the mental attitude of "Wii owners don't care about visuals because they didn't buy a PS3, let's cut the development budget".

From what I've played I love F1 2009 and I'm certainly going to buy it, but by doing so am I condoning lazy visuals? Am I proving them right? Do we deserve great controls, great games and great visuals all at the same time?

Answers on a postcard...............

DSi Speak Channel?

While searching for information for error 206602 kolma found this reference to a dedicated DSi Speak Channel

To redeem a Nintendo DSi Download Ticket number, such as for the Nintendo DSi Speak Channel, enter the number off the Nintendo DSi Download Ticket in "Settings and Features" off of the main Nintendo DSi Shop page, then select "Nintendo DSi Download Ticket."

It's since been deleted but the proof remains in the google cache.

Gameov3r doesn't need a DSi speak channel to communicate his needs. Gameov3r has the Forum.

Professor Layton and Pandora's Box

Spoiler Alert! The video below shows the completed mini-games found in the Professor's Trunk.




If you are still stumped by the formidable challenges then head over to the Gameov3r Forum for some assistance

The Book of Enforcement

Stephen Toulouse, Director of Policy and Enforcement for Xbox LIVE, discussing the development of the systems that Microsoft use to clean up their online service.



A full transcript can be found here.

one blonde, one brunette and?

Order the t-shirt here

Forum Access Issues Update 1

I've tried really hard to wake Gameov3r from his Caffreys induced slumbering to get him on the Freeforums case but so far all I can hear is the pitiful sound of continue? playing draughts in the litter tray. It's fortunate that we changed his diet midway through the week or else he'd only have the dark pieces to play with.

When the doors finally re-open I recommend leaving it a few hours before attempting to enter to allow for the build up of noxious fumes to dissipate.

I'm off to a birthday party (not mine) so I'll check back once I return home. If anyone does manage to jemmy the locks off make sure you have adequate PPE to prevent a recurrence of Tooms' accident after the relocation?


17:35 - the doors seem to be open again.