LR:FFXII

So having invested so much time in this seemingly never-ending sequence of sequels, I'm quite looking forward to this third and thankfully final tale of Lightning and co. I have absolutely no interest in the characters or setting, the former being either stereotypes or cyphers (with the improbable exception of Sazh, who despite appearing to be the worst kind of the former actually turned out to be quite interesting), and the latter, while quite epic, never feeling like a real world. What I liked was how they have evolved the systems and combat, with the latter being especiallly interesting. In this latest instalment, it's a sort of real-time affair, which if the demo is anything to go by, will either prove deep and interesting or incredibly frustrating. Watch this space.

Anyway, I realised recently that none of the stories of any Final Fantasy game has made any sort of sense to me since VII (and I'm not 100% clear on all aspects of that), so if you're coming to the FFXIII sub-series for the first time with Lightning Returns, or if you want a refresher, watch this charming video produced by Squeenix themselves for a quick recap of the most salient points. It hits most of the big moments (with some spoilers, I guess) without the narrative fluff that bogs down the games while you are actually playing them.

Hat tip to Polygon.

Gone Home & Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

I have to admit, I'm a bit soppy. I identify strongly with characters in books, movies and games, and what happens to them often feels like it is happening to me. These two games that I played recently have both affected me in such a way, and have done so brilliantly.

Briefly, Gone Home is a tale of exploring your family home after returning from a long trip and discovering what has happened to your parents and sister. Brothers is a tale of two brothers exploring a world to find a cure for their sick father.

They are both games that, more than any others I have played before, deliver a narrative that is more important that the gameplay, although they do it in different ways. Gone Home delivers its story though letters, notes, and voiceovers found while wandering through the house. There is interaction with objects in the house, but not in a 'gamey' way - it puts you in the shoes of the protagonist very well, and I did feel as if I was exploring, not playing.

Brothers is more of a game in the traditional sense - there are simple puzzles for example - but the way it delivers its story is through the mechanics - you control the two brothers simultaneously with the two analogue sticks of a gamepad. Through this device you get a strong sense of the connection between the two brothers far more than is conveyed by the action on screen.

Both games made me feel very strongly for the characters I was controlling and events in each story really struck home with me. I would recommend both games if you are looking for a new way for narrative to be delivered. We so often treat games like a competition - completion is the thing. With these games, like a good book, you know that the journey is far more important.

Steam home streaming beta

No,  I don't have an invite.

Edit 29/01/14: I am now and it is really very good indeed, technically, but I really need to have more time with it to judge if the input lag is just a little too much to bear at present.

Playstation Now and Steam In-Home Streaming

I guess we now know what Sony have been doing with Gaikai.

http://www.videogamer.com/news/playstation_now_brings_streamed_games_to_ps4_ps3_and_ps_vita.html

The service promises to offer a "variety of popular PS3 games" first on PS4 and PS3, followed by the PS Vita. There's also potential for the service to stream classic PSOne, PS2, and PS3 titles. Additionally, most 2014 US models of Sony's Bravia TV line-up will support PS Now.

I love this idea. It has been tried before with OnLive of course, but their selection was a little weak. If Sony can do this with a reasonably priced subscription model and good latency, it could be very exciting. Unfortunately they haven't confirmed for Europe (or anywhere other than the US) yet.

Speaking of streaming, I can barely contain my anticipation of the Steam in-home streaming feature. There is no way that we want a PC in the living room with all the noise that it brings (not to mention that it's a great ugly box), but it is nice to play games on the big TV, so the ability to stream from my office upstairs to a little box under the telly downstairs has me all a-quiver. Latency shouldn't be an issue with a wired network, so it should be super smooth. My concern will be the hardware requirement for the main PC as it may mean a new graphics card, which means delving into the nonsensical hell that is PC components and their numbering systems. Ugh.

Games night (in the day)

My sister (C), my better half (J) and myself had our standing board game session on Sunday. Our first game was Settlers of Catan. I have only played it once some time ago and frankly didn't enjoy it much, but C had never played and felt like she should. It played pretty much the same as I remembered, interminable dice rolling and then it stopped. I won, pretty much by mistake, but I can't say I took much joy in it. I can't see us playing again for a while.

Second game was Risk Legacy (no spoilers). This was our third game of the campaign and with 3 players we were hoping that we might open our first hidden packet today. Things were going well for me at first, taking Asia from my usual base in Australia, but I couldn't hold it, as I suffered multiple reverses in the middle east and then collapsed from J's attack from Alaska in Siberia. Alas for her, with a surprise attack through J's lightly defended southern border in Central America, C took J's HQ and her first win, giving us one each. At least we'll get a packet next game, and probably one after when all the minor cities are founded. At the moment it's really just Risk, with many of that game's issues, but at least the games don't drag on to world domination (yet).

Lucky I don't have any

My first chord.

If I had any readers they would all have an opinion on what I'm doing wrong.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes

The short review - If you've played one Lego game you've played all of them. The slightly longer review: Who cares when they're this much fun?

My ability to suspend my disbelief is quite strong. This means that I easily get scared playing scary games. Not just 'horror' games like Outlast or Amnesia, which I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, but also games with what the BBFC would probably call 'mild peril'. I can so easily imagine being in the shoes of the character I'm playing.

Which makes flying around New York City as Lego Iron Man utterly joyous.

The characters all feel different, which is quite a feat when you realize how many there are. The game is genuinely funny too - the nods to Samuel L Jackson's previous movie roles are a nice touch. The gameplay is pretty much the same as any of the open world Lego games of recent years, but polished to a mirror shine. I recommend this game if you have any interest in the Marvel universe, as there is sure to be something to make you smile.

Tabletop gag reel

Tabletop is Wil Wheaton 's board game show and it is excellent. It basically introduced me to board gaming, and last week featured the first hobby game that I bought, Carcassonne. 

This week features the gag reel from that recording, and it can (and should) be found here.

Nick Griffin declared bankrupt

From http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25590155

Mr Griffin tweeted: "Being bankrupt does NOT prevent me being or standing as an MEP. It does free me from financial worries."
He added: "I am now turning the experience to the benefit of hard-up constituents by producing a booklet on dealing with debt."

Guitar Zero

Today, I'm borrowing a guitar from a friend of mine. I've never really tried it before (other than briefly trying to learn one chord on a classsical guitar and giving up), and I'm interested to see how much I can teach myself before I get bored and give up. Stay tuned!

I will be using Rocksmith as my main tutor to start with. I like games, so it will be interesting to see how well it gamifies the repetitive nature of the early learning of an instrument. I've also been recommended Justin Guitar which looks quite comprehensive and free, two things I am very fond of.