Jon Gracey's

Posts Tagged ‘Gaming’

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Games That Rocked My World – #14: Journey

In PS3, PSN on October 9, 2012 at 10:20 am

Title: Journey

Format: PS3, PSN

Released: 13th March, 2012

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I am a crier. I tell you this in the interests of honesty. Films are my prime trigger (Have you seen “The Princess & The Frog”?? Apology accepted). But videogames? Rarely. They conjure up a wide array of feelings: wonder, excitement, anger, confusion. But emotions? I played through episode three of The Walking Dead: The Game recently, and was staggered to find myself in tears at a particularly gut-wrenching decision I was forced to make. This was interesting and new, at least within the realms of my gaming experience. And I was excited. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked My World – #13: Red Dead Redemption

In PS3, Xbox 360 on December 13, 2011 at 11:44 am

Title: Red Dead Redemption

Format: PS3, Xbox 360

Released: 21st May, 2010

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What a difference a song makes. I’ve recently been playing devilishly difficult 2D PlayStation platformer Rayman, and by Christ it is hard. Unfair, at points, but generally, just hard. And yet, such care and attention has been paid not only to the beautiful 2D graphics, with gorgeous sprites and animation that have aged far better than the unbalanced difficulty curve, but also to the music. Every level has a gorgeous riff or fill that conjures up feelings of excitement, derring-do, terror – whatever is required. It really does raise the experience from challenging platformer to absorbing adventure. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked My World – #12: Earthworm Jim 2

In GBA, Mega Drive, PC, PlayStation, Saturn, SNES, Virtual Console on December 6, 2011 at 12:20 pm

Title: Earthworm Jim 2

Format: Mega Drive, SNES, Saturn, PlayStation, PC, GBA, Virtual Console

Released: 22nd December, 1995

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As a child, my genre of choice was always the 2D platformer. Prizing reactions, skill and variety above all else, the Sonic The Hedgehogs, and Super Mario Worlds of the early 90s were the games I coveted most. I remember basing a friendship with a kid at school called James Turpin on the fact that he had a copy of Rocket Night Adventures on the Mega Drive. The rest came later. Then there was this really weird kid I met at one of those ballpit-centric adventure playgrounds for about half an hour somewhere up north who wanted my protection from a bully who threatened him with karate (It was like a truly awful 90s sports movie, just waiting to happen). With this chap, I actively attempted to cultivate a long-distance friendship because one of the first things he told me as I coldly turned to leave him to his fate, was that he had a Sega Saturn and a copy of the then-graphically-astounding early 3D platformer Bug!. It really was that simple: I was an opportunistic dick, and games were my currency. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked My World – #11: Uplink

In PC on November 29, 2011 at 11:42 am

Title: Uplink

Format: PC

Release Date: 1st October, 2001

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I’m just going to go right and out say it. Uplink – by British developers, and self-professed “Last Of The Bedroom Programmers”, Introversion – is the greatest marriage of form and content in the world of videogames.

I’ll let that process for a second.

Picture the scene: a man sits at his desk, in a darkened room, hunched over his computer. The blinds are closed, and a blue glow diffuses from the monitor onto his face. Perhaps he’s wearing glasses, and the pale light reflects off them, twinkling across the desk. Perhaps an ash tray sits to the left, piled with used butts. Perhaps a freshly-lit cigarette dangles from his lip, jiggling encouragingly as he taps furiously at the keys and conjures transactions unknown and ungodly across the intangible ether of the internet. Suddenly, a knock at his door. He looks up, panicked, drawn away from the power of the screen to the more pressing concerns of the immediate now. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked My World – #10: Final Fantasy VII

In PC, PlayStation, PSN on November 21, 2011 at 2:06 pm

Title: Final Fantasy VII

Format: PlayStation, PC, PSN

Release Date: 17th November, 1997

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In my System Shock 2 article, I mentioned a list: The Ones That Got Away. Games I started playing but, for one reason or another, never finished. Their plots and characters remain in my head still; spectral figures tugging at my brain strings for resolution, desperately begging to be taken out of the box, and levelled up just one more time. I’ll get around to them all someday. But bang at the top of the list, stands Final Fantasy VII. Read the rest of this entry »