1000 Words Anyone?

Mr.B's High Hopes For 2009 in Gaming

Ok I know I haven't really returned to form after my little break but I thought I'd indulge myself just once more before finally getting around to reviewing Martin Morning. Anyway, just for the sake of it, although nobody will take note or care, I've put together a little list of games I'm looking forward to this year. Whether or not they'll be good is yet to be seen. Fuck the explanations and excuses, I give to you "Mr.B's High Hopes For 2009 in Gaming."

The Sims 3 (PC)
When I first got my hands on the Sims 2 I was completely hooked for weeks. I'm not normally one for PC gaming, don't bother asking me why, and I seriously cannot think of any other time I've been so glued to my computer. I forgot to eat and sleep...well not entirely but I certainly ate and slept begrudgingly. Designing a human being and guiding it through life as either a nerd, romantic, money launderer or family raiser was certainly entertaining and rewarding. By the end of it my family practically populated the whole town. Anyway the 3rd installment in the Sims saga will feature even more customisation options and many new features that are sure to liven up the series.

Cursed Mountain (Wii)
I love a good survival horror game and what Cursed Mountain proposes is a very original idea for one indeed. The premise is that you are searching for you're brother who became lost after failing to adhere to Buddhist superstition before climbing a Himalayan mountain. The storyline is heavily influence by Buddhism and Tibetan folklore. This game is quite literally taking the genre to strange new places, as does the next game...


Sadness (Wii)
Once again survival horror, once again on the Wii and once again an original premise. Visually the game will have a black and white, gothic Victorian England sort of look (sorry if that's a bit of an eyefull). The game will deal with themes of narcolepsy, nyctophobia and paranoid schizophrenia. Psychological aspects to the survival horror genre have proven effective before in games like Silent Hill and Eternal Darkness and are hopefully going to work here aswell. The game's story will take place in pre-World War I Russia. All these excellent ideas for the survival horror genre are making me so excited I need to lay down a little bit before moving on in the list.


Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360 and Playstation 3)
When compared to the last 2 titles Resident Evil 5 will be quite familiar. The hint is right there in the 5. If you count RE Zero (which I do) RE5 is the sixth installment in the main series of this very popular survival horror genre. But this one I recommend based on the strength of Resident Evil 4, which actually was original and reinvented the series. Of course the new direction RE4 took the series in was arguably not survival horror and more "over the shoulder action horror." But whatever, RE5 will basically be a high def RE4 set in Africa and starring Chris instead of Leon; and when RE4 was just soooo daaaaarrrrn gooooooood it's hard to not be excited.

Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC and Arcade)
This one's really a no-brainer. It's a new Street Fighter game with a fancy new stylised art direction.


The Conduit (Wii)
Another interesting Wii exclusive. This is a First Person Shooter that uses a lot of clever tricks to ensure it looks as good as the shooters on the 360 and PS3. That and it's control scheme is modelled heavily off Metroid Prime 3, which I hold as the greatest use of Wii controls in any game.

Madworld (Wii)
I pretty much talked this one up a few months ago and don't feel the need to do so again.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)
Before I launch into my final preview I'd just like to acknowledge how nice it is to see so many original, non-gimmicky third-party titles on the board for 2009. After 2008 it's very encouraging to see. Anyway Muramasa is an action RPG game with 2D graphics that look hand drawn (think along the lines of games like Okami and Braid). It looks stunning. The game has a feudal Japan theme as features katanas, ninjas, kunoichis and emperors. Very cool stuff indeed. There are two different playable characters which may or may not warrent multiple playthroughs (depending on how good the game is and how different their story modes are I guess). The game is said to be 60 percent complete as of October 2008 so hopefully we'll be seeing this one soon.

Madworld, the Wii and What's Wrong with the World

Ask any of my friends and I'm sure they'll tell you that I'm a Nintendo boy through and through. I think the Wii is an awesome piece of hardware with the potential to make gaming that little bit more immersive. That said I can't help but feel that developers are whoring out the poor thing, cheapening it by sticking any old half-arsed, arm flapping, shovelware into it. There are a fair few exceptionally good titles on the Wii but for every gem there a probably about 30 shitty Wii games and it can be hard to see the good for all the ugly in the way. I kinda liked it when Nintendo was the underdog. The Gamecube only had about 8 really excellent games on it but at least they weren't bogged down in crap. Well I guess maybe they were, but at least it wasn't anywhere near as much crap. I'm a fan of motion controls when they add to the experience and help to make the player more intimate with the game. Games like The Legend of Zelda:Twilight Princess and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption I hold as the finest examples of how motion controls should be implemented in a game. What should NOT be done is make a game based entirely around wanking off the Wiimote as furiously as possible and/or pointing and clicking at the screen. This is LAZY design and says to me as a gamer "We developers don't give a fuck about games, we just wanna make some quick cash." If you remove all of Nintendo's key frachises from the equation (Zelda, Metroid and Mario) there are really only three good Wii exclusive titles left (namely No More Heroes, Boom Blox and De Blob). This brings me to my next point (there's a point?) and that's Madworld. Madworld is an upcoming Wii exclusive title being pitched as an ultra-stylised, surreal, game in which you control a man with a chainsaw arm competing in a televised, deathmatch gameshow. To me the title appears to be interesting, exciting and unique. This is exactly the kind of thing I want the Wii to be about. But the totally shit thing is that the game is looking likely to be banned in Australia because we don't have a damn R18+ rating for video games. There are a buttload of people I blame for this but all I really wanna bitch about here is this. We are going to miss out on some excellent titles in Australia because there are people in government who want to parent us.

"No Angus, that game is far too violent for an ADULT such as yourself. If people play it they will transform into enraged, twisted, psychopaths. It'll be just like the Hulk."

Let me just clear this little misconception up. School shootings and mass murders happen because

1. Natural selection pretty much explains that there are going to be emotionally, mentally and psychollogically messed up people every now and then. It sucks but that's just what a diverse reality is all about.



2. There is easy access to guns and weapons

The reason missinformed people blame movies, games and music for societies ills is because America cannot bear to let go of it's precious guns. They NEED guns because if they don't have a gun the next time someone attacks them with a gun they won't have a gun to defend themselves with. Does anyone else see the stupidity in this logic?

PS. Congratulations to Luke Wratten for being the first to list themselves as a fan of Infinite Possiblogities. He was just too quick for the rest of you.