Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
For Xbox 360.
Verdict: Starship Troopers on ice.
Rating: 3½/5
There’s nothing quite like slipping into the comfortable embrace a giant robotic exo-skeleton. If they existed outside of scientific pipe dreams, yours truly would be riding to work on large metal legs like a giant chromed chicken.
Thankfully games give me a chance to experience such commuting fantasies and Jun Takeuchi’s Lost Planet is like eating at a mech buffet, containing just under twenty robotic dishes for the connoisseur and enthusiast alike.
Based on an inhospitable snow covered world, Lost Planet tells the cliched story of Wayne, a young man with amnesia, dazed and confused in a world of Snow Pirates and giant alien insectoids known as the ‘Akrid’. Luckily he’s a dab hand at shooting and agrees to help exterminate the Akrid to harness the tasty thermal energy contained within their bodies.
The thermal energy is also Lost Planet’s unique hook - carrying a gizmo that keeps the cold at bay, Wayne needs to constantly fill it with energy. Energy that is so handily dispensed by the slain corpse of any foe. On paper what this creates is a driving force to keep you moving - stand still and you freeze, keep killing and you live.
Unfortunately the relative ease of each level means thermal energy remains in constant supply, only ever running low when you meet the massive bosses. And what bosses you shall meet.
Containing some of the most impressive boss battles seen, Lost Planet uses the 360’s grunt to render such monstrosities as giant Dune like Snow Worms that are so big there’s an option to just run away.
Killing big bugs is great fun but against Snow Pirates the AI lets down, seemingly using the same dumb insect brains as the Akrid and presenting even less challenge.
Against real people is a different matter though as online games help Lost Planet shine where it falters offline. Data Posts encourage strategy and the grappling hook comes into its own with huge maps designed around its vertical scaling abilities.
Ultimately, Lost Planet is a solid shooter full of spectacle that is let down by a muddled plot, poor AI and quirky controls.
Much like my morning stroll to work.

Eye Toy Kinetic Combat
Format: PS2
Exercise the Bruce Lee way.
Gamers seem to get bad press for apparently being sofa moulding sloths. In the public eye the traditional misconception of us is a weedy, spotty, unfit teenage waster which although may be true in the rarest of cases is normally far from the truth - with the average age of a gamer being in the late twenties, most are normal, healthy, hard working people with a penchant for virtual escapism. Combat is needed by the former but aimed at the latter.
As one of those vague titles that exists on the periphery of what constitutes a ‘game’, Combat is actually a piece of interactive fitness software. The fact that it’s on the PS2, uses the Eye Toy and includes some minigames is just about reason enough to call it a game. That and it’s a lot of fun to play with.
Made with the express purpose of getting you fit by teaching you the basic principles of Kung Fu, Combat’s main training programme is set over a 16 week period (tied into the PS2’s internal clock) and constitutes a regime of steady exercise for an hour every couple of days. Whether you’ll be kick-ass enough to beat a crowd of ninjas at the end remains to be seen but you’ll certainly have shed a few pounds and possibly destroyed a vase or two.
After the initial introduction you stumble upon Combat’s major flaw - to fully appreciate it you need space. Lots of space. If you haven’t got a generous sized, well lit room, some of the exercises will prove difficult and the software will have trouble responding to you. Along with the fact that although the wide vision lens supplied helps, you also need to be a fair distance from the TV for it to properly work - great if you live in a big loft conversion, not so great if you live in a pokey two bed terraced house.
Beyond this initial hitch, Combat proves fun enough for you to want to come back for more with mini games and quick play challenges for when you just feel like punching the air and an exercise regime that’s a damn sight more entertaining than sit-ups every day.
7/10

Nintendo Wii
£180 including Wii Sports.
Launch of the Wunderdog.
Released on December 8th 2006, Nintendo’s Wii has attracted massive media attention, successfully eschewing the traditional hardcore image of a console’s launch (replete with midnight queues of geekish fanboys) for mainstream coverage.
This was always Nintendo’s idea, to open gaming up to the masses that were scared of the multi-button joypads and complex titles that typified it at its core. Focusing on accessible, fun games that any member of the family can pick up and play, the similarities between the main controller and the universally accepted TV Remote Control is no coincidence.
With the basic premise of the console being based around its innovative motion sensing controller, future proofed processing power has been shunned for a new way to play games and Nintendo are hedging the bet that people are more than willing to make that trade.
What you get for that trade is a compact, relatively cheap, Apple-esque console design that utilises a controller that can detect three dimensional movement in every way and also features rumble and a built in speaker for surround sound style effects.
What this means for gaming is easier demonstrated than described but as is shown in Wii Sports (bundled with the console) it means you can play games by moving your hands in the same way you would in the sport - swing a racket, throw a punch or bowl a ball.
For the hardcore gamer, it means a more direct and tangible interface with the virtual space. With full three dimensional control, the player will be able to do things in games that joypads could never do. At least that’s the premise - time will tell if developers meet the challenge and rise above the initial first wave of gimmicky action.
Backed up by the ‘nunchuk’ attachment that expands the control scheme of the remote controller, the Wii also allows for more complex games like First Person Shooters, which if handled right could prove more immersive than the favoured mouse and keyboard setup.
With all the focus on the controller it’s easy to miss what else the console has to offer. Upon booting up your WiFi internet connected Wii you’re presented with ‘Wii Channels’ - a grid of screens dedicated to specific features of the console such as a web browser, avatar maker and access to the ‘Virtual Console’ service.
Similar to the 360’s Live Arcade, the Virtual Console allows you to purchase and download from a library of retro games from past consoles. With a library as revered as Nintendo’s (think Mario, Zelda etc.) it’s fantastic and it also allows for Sega Megadrive and TurboGrafx downloads and hopefully other consoles will soon follow suit (Sega Saturn’s ‘Radiant Silvergun’ please!).
As the definite underdog in this round of the console wars, Nintendo has a difficult task ahead of it. Opting out of the power struggle and leaving the PS3 and Xbox 360 to scrap it out on the Hi-Def stage, the Wii’s modest strength will certainly show its graphical age in years to come especially as Sony and Microsoft’s developers settle into their new technology and Hi-Def TVs become more popular.
For the moment though the Wii is in a unique place with a lot to prove and, like the DS, the future should hold many surprises. Or at least it’ll be fun.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
For Xbox 360. Also Wii, PC, PS2, Xbox.
Verdict: Multiplayer meta-mash-up.
Rating: 3/5
With a decidedly old-school comic book feel to it, Ultimate Alliance is more 1960 than 2006. At least story wise as any fan of the comics would undoubtedly point out that certain characters didn’t exist in the 60’s bar some kind of alternate reality, time travelling cross dimensional funk. If you’re looking for a contemporary tale packed with metaphor and maturity, look elsewhere, as Ultimate Alliance is about bashing bad guys. Again and again and again. With a name like ‘Masters of Evil’ they’re asking for it anyway.
Controlling a customisable squad of four super heroes, Ultimate Alliance follows the tried and tested formula of RPG beat-em-up super games like Xmen: Legends and expands it with a much greater character roster of Meta Humans like Spiderman, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Deadpool, Iron Man, The Human Torch and a whole lot more.
The massive roster of characters is one of the only things that provides variety within the game though, with combat relegated to basic combos based around weak and strong attacks and a bevy of individual super attacks. Trying out every character keeps things fresh as each is unlocked but as every identikit level drags on and each hammy plot unravels, its effect wears thin and the next hero ultimately plays very similar to the last.
If anyone wanted proof that videogames turn people into mindless zombies then they need look no further - the repetitive button bashing and endlessly recycled environments transform the player into a base machine, hammering away with the monotone rhythm of a factory robot. Salvation as always comes in the form of friends.
With four super fans huddled round the TV or linked over the internet, Ultimate Alliance is transformed into a social event, full of co-op camaraderie and shared victories and defeats. Ultimate Alliance is a multiplayer game at heart and although it’s always fun with friends it shouldn’t have to rely on human interaction to make up for its weaknesses.
One for the most ardent of fans (with three super-friends).

Rainbow Six: Vegas
For Xbox 360, PC.
Verdict: Shiny but not new.
Rating: 3½/5
With the enticing neon glow of Las Vegas beckoning the bullet holes of your ill judged headshots, Rainbow Six: Vegas replaces the traditional dark corridors and dirty streets with orange hued casinos, one armed bandits and glossy bars...once you’re past the first, dark corridored, dirty street filled level that is.
As high expectations are initially dashed in exchange for training you in the new, cover based mechanics of its gunplay and the grounding of plot devices, RS: Vegas begins with a sense of unremarkable deja vu - same old guns, same old cannon fodder. Run, hide, shoot faceless terrorist, run again.
Thankfully the trip to the Strip perks things up, strategically as well as visually with the cover of abandoned limos and gambling machines proving far more interesting than rust covered railings and train yards.
Essentially a linear amalgamation of Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell meshed with the immediacy of an FPS, Rainbow Six never feels quite individual enough to warrant its existence beyond perspective change. The cover based mechanics, allowing you to switch to a wall-hugging third person for blindfire gunplay, feel clunky and intrusive and the controls for directing squad mates in the wild are limiting and basic but they work well enough in simple situations where a door needs breaching or an enemy needs flanking.
Continuing with its own unique online vision, Vegas uses the series’ ‘Persistent Elite Creation’, a feature that allows you to create your own evolving online character, right down to using your own web-cam snapped face. Along with a massive variety of unlockable armour types, clothing and customisable guns it has everything for the modern sharp-shooter looking to hone their multiplayer skills.
Unfortunately, where Rainbow Six: Vegas succeeds in creating a beautifully rendered city of sin, replete with high end mo-cap animation and stylised blurring, it falls down in almost equal measure by providing little that is new or better.
With the difficulty on Realistic though it creates its own brand of fleeting mortality, with plenty of fear to offset the loathing generated by formulaic and linear gameplay.

Looking ahead to 2007
After a hilarious Christmas day spent watching the family play Wii Sports and the Boxing day hangover spent in Hyrule too, I’m certainly looking forward to 2007 - it’s definitely going to be an interesting year.
The 360 still has a lot to prove but more flagship titles are on their way and the Hi-Def film download service and the launch of the HD-DVD drive should help match some of the PS3’s multimedia capabilities.
As Paul said though, the Playstation brand is a formidable one and it’ll be interesting to see how they pare off in a couple of years. At the end of the day it’s the games that make the console and Sony looks set to have a fine selection of exclusives. I can’t help lamenting the design of its joypad though - despite the inclusion of motion sensing, the dated analogue sticks and the lack of rumble will certainly have a negative impact on many games.
And then there’s the Wii. I’ve already seen proof that ‘non-gamers’ love it and the inclusion of a web browser is a stroke of genius (opening up a world of flash gaming on your TV for one thing, including the PS3’s Flow) but I can’t help worry that we’re in for a glut of gimmicky party games. Zelda proves that ‘proper’ games can work, it’s just up to the developers to get their brains thinking a little outside the box.
These are some of the games making me want a Hi-Def telly for next year.
Mass Effect (360)
The makers of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic are crafting an epic sci-fi RPG that places a galaxy of dynamic conversation and exploration at your finger tips.
Spore (PC)
Will Wright’s much anticipated opus promises generative game mechanics that allow you to nurture your own unique creatures from an amoeba to a galaxy conquering race.
Half Life 2 Episode 2 (PC, PS3, 360)
The episodic sequels to Half Life 2 need no introduction. The inclusion of the multiplayer giant Team Fortress 2 and the incredible potential of the FPS puzzler Portal means we’re just being spoilt.
Halo 3 (360)
With Earth invaded and a battle worn Master Chief facing off against the new pack mentality of the alien Brutes, the end of the world can’t come soon enough.
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
A gravity defying, motion controlled Mario runs riot on a series of globes. Can it revolutionise 3D gaming like Mario 64 did? It’s debatable but it’s guaranteed to be great fun whatever the outcome.

Looking back at 2006
As my first year as a reviewer draws to a close I’ve cast a winsome eye over all the delights that have been under my thumbs and shuddered at the hours spent playing the rest of the dirge - just so you dear reader can avoid buying it. It’s not a job, it’s a public service.
For me, 2006 has been the year of the 360. With its succession of quality releases, the pinnacle of joypad design and the absolutely integral online experience, it’s fast becoming my favourite console of all time. But then i’m a sucker for pretty games and multiplayer battles.
The DS has also been filling my lunch breaks with plenty of touchscreen joy with gems like the sublime audio-doodling beauty of Elektroplankton.
Stinker of the year goes to Shadow the Hedgehog for attempting to revitalise a franchise by doing everything it should avoid. A number of film tie-ins could also easily earn the honour but then that’s an unwritten requirement of film adaptations.
These are my top five titles of 2006, cheers to Paul for letting me join the party.
Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)
Such sweet and surreal treats lie in this never ending game of decorating, fishing and designing. Remixing the Gamecube classic with an innovative online experience, Wild World showed what was possible with the DS in almost every way.
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)
Building on years of RPG domination in Japan, Dragon Quest survives it’s English translation with award winning voice acting and a hilarious approach to character design. Proving that staying to the formula can still pay off, DQ continues its well crafted tradition with enough panache to shame most contenders to the crown.
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
It’s rare for a game to make you question your oft genocidal actions but Shadow of the Colossus did just that. Taking a Jack and the Beanstalk approach to puzzle design and the most naturalistic horse riding seen, Fumito Ueda’s spiritual sequel to Ico takes you on an emotional journey that makes you wonder just who the bad guy really is.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (360)
In sharp contrast to Dragon Quest’s staunch line in linearity, Oblivion is an absolutely massive, open ended RPG that months later I still feel I’ve barely scratched the surface of. With a ‘go anywhere, do anything’ mechanic you really can be the hero or villain you’ve always wanted to be.
Gears of War (360)
Not since Halo has a game’s co-op play grabbed me so immediately. Built from the ground up for two player action, GoW’s tactical innovations, handheld style camera work and beautiful environments proved that there are more brains than brawn behind this sci-fi shooter.

Tony Hawk’s Project 8
For Xbox 360.
Verdict: At last, they got it right.
Rating: 4/5
And so my fortnight of skateboarding continues, moving from the cartoon slopes of Downhill Jam on the DS to the 360’s Project 8 in one swift ‘Disco Kickflip’.
Inaugurated back into Tony’s particular control style by Downhill Jam with it’s simplified action, Project 8 ups the complexity and depth by a mile and brings the series back to its traditional home - that of free wheeling around skate friendly environments and attempting to pull off high scoring combo tricks.
Featuring the obligatory character creation (create your own punk, punk!) and online multiplayer, Project 8 takes up the design mantle laid down by THUG and American Wasteland and finally delivers on all the promises they broke.
With a huge, seamlessly streaming town, seemingly designed by a skateboarding architect, you’re in a free roaming nirvana of ramps, half pipes and rails with buildings and roads that open themselves to so much trick potential and exploration.
The mission structure is made up of a multitude of freeform goals and challenges with the over arching aim to be picked for Tony Hawk’s ‘totally awesome’ Project 8 skate team.
Racking up points and climbing a virtual leader board, you can skate around the town looking for things to do - talking to a character with a Ready Brek glow will get you tasks or you can attempt to top scores at trick spots marked out by subtler graffiti.
Aswell as all the long over due refinement is the ‘Nail the trick’ feature - with a click of a stick, the camera zooms towards the board and in slow motion you control each leg of the skater, attempting to create new flip tricks. It’s remarkably satisfying to pull off with the balance exact enough to make it neither easy or hard to do.
With user friendly, streamlined gameplay featuring quick restarts, instant get-ups and clear goals, Project 8 is the most polished and enjoyable title of the series.
And it’s about time too.