Author: Simon

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Great Moments Of The Generation: Uncharted 2’s Jeep-Hopping

U2

The extra power of the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation heralded an important development in gaming: the dreams of matching the cinematic narrative style so prevalent in Hollywood could finally be realised. In hindsight, this strictly linear approach had arguably more failures than successes – for every *Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare* there was a *HAZE*, every *Heavy Rain* matched by a *Turning Point*. It was clear that pure power wasn’t enough – it had to be utilised not only by expert coders, but also by writers and directors who understood the need  for deep, compelling characters in an exciting story.

And the absolute peak of this new wave was Naughty Dog’s expertly constructed *Uncharted 2*.

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Fast & Furious Badass Cast As Wonder Woman

WW2Warner Bros have just announced that Israeli actress Gal Gadot will be donning Wonder Woman’s famous outfit for the sequel to *Man Of Steel*, currently known as *Batman vs Superman*. You may remember her from kicking all kinds of ass in the most recent *Fast & Furious* movies, so she’s definitely got the moves to match the jawline.

From director Zack Snyder in [Variety](http://variety.com/2013/film/news/gal-gadot-wonder-woman-batman-vs-superman-1200918310/):

“Wonder Woman is arguably one of the most powerful female characters of all time and a fan favorite in the DC Universe. Not only is Gal an amazing actress, but she also has that magical quality that makes her perfect for the role. We look forward to audiences discovering Gal in the first feature film incarnation of this beloved character.”

 

Some might say that she hasn’t got the stocky figure that Diana is known for, but remember that Michael Keaton was physically no Batman yet he turned out to be one of the best. It’s also reassuring that Warner have gone for an actress who has proven she can both act and fight. For me, this is the first real positive piece of news to come out of the production, so I can’t wait to see her cleaving her way through another movie.

*Via [i09](http://io9.com/gal-gadot-cast-as-wonder-woman-in-batman-vs-superman-1476488178)*

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Great Moments Of The Generation: Tomb Raider’s “I’M COMING FOR ALL OF YOU”

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Tomb Raider! How did that even happen? A burnt out franchise starring a bygone star of  a gaming age where breasts (and size thereof) were equal to guns (and size thereof). The next in a long line of adventure games that were quickly paling under the harsh cinematic light of *Uncharted*. The ubiquitous *reboot* of a *beloved icon* that was going to be *darker* and *grittier*. Yaaaaaaawn. Time to roll over and stay down, Lara.

But developer Crystal Dynamics had a twin-prong plan; make Lara real, and tell a *bloody good story*. Continue reading “Great Moments Of The Generation: Tomb Raider’s “I’M COMING FOR ALL OF YOU””

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Great Moments Of The Generation: Almost Getting Fired Because Of Geometry Wars Waves

GWW2How important is employment? From very early on in our childhood, we’re funnelled down the process of refining some skills and repressing others to prepare for our mythical lifetime job. Nothing holds a higher priority than forcing children into shapes that might one day yield the all-important salary, an approach that is seemingly justified by the existence of endless bills as adulthood takes hold.

So, after years of education and hardship and crappy interim jobs selling your soul a chunk at a time in the form of car insurance policies, it must take something pretty special to tempt you into actually risking your hold on a stable, career-based job.

Unfortunately, *Geometry Wars Waves* is *exactly* that kind of special.

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Great Moments Of The Generation: Wii Bowling Takes Over

WiiB

The Nintendo Wii holds an unique honour in my gaming lifetime. It’s the only console I’ve ever sold – *twice* – while its been in the middle of its life. There’s has been no other console that has left me feeling so totally angry and ambivalent about its core mission and design. The lack of HD, the foggy motion controls, the dry spells between Mario and Zelda games filled with tumbleweeds; it was something that I just new I wouldn’t able to connect with. I bought two Wiis and sold them both, head shaking harder the second time for believing that there might have been some redeeming long-term feature I’d missed.

There wasn’t.

However, the Wii may not have had the longevity I required but it did have one thing that was unbeatable. So good, in fact, that it was the prime reason for my purchase each time I threw money at it. Because, as it turned out, there really ain’t  no party like a *Wii Bowling* party.

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Great Moments Of The Generation: Leaving No-one Behind In Left 4 Dead

Left-4-Dead

The first time I heard of *Left 4 Dead* was from a forum member at [Eurogamer](www.eurogamer.net). Because of his involvement in the games industry, he’d managed to snag a preview build of Valve’s new zombie killing game, touted as a pure co-op survival test against screaming hordes and an intelligent adaptive AI. When asked of his opinion, he said that he thought it might be the best online co-op game ever.

I still think he might be right.

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Great Moments Of The Generation: Pressing Split/Second’s Button

SS

The fatness of *Split/Second*’s cars perfectly captures the spirit of the game. Bright, colourful and ridiculously wide, they are quick to slam into anything that dares to get in their way,  growling all the time like caffeinated angry tigers. At the risk of actually creating a genre, this is a determinedly *Michael Bay* racing game full of sparks and popcorn, a plump hog that has eaten the extra American fat and wants to drag you along screaming behind it.

So what does a Michael Bay game absolutely need?

*Explosions*.

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Great Moments Of The Generation: Staying Together Through Journey’s Journey

Journey

 

Team Ico has been noticeably absent for the PS3’s life so far. A force to be reckoned with on the PS2, *Ico* and *Shadow Of The Colossus* frequently feature in many all-time-greatest-games lists. Team Ico’s PS3 title, *The Last Guardian*, was announced during Sony’s E3 2009 conference but then disappeared into development hell amid reports of technical problems, lack of direction, and lead designer Fumito Ueda quitting in the middle of the process. So, with the primary developers of outstanding emotive interactive experiences dragging their heels, who could fill the void?

Enter thatgamecompany.

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Review: The Day Of The Doctor – The 50th Anniversary Special

Doctor

The *Third Conditional* in English is the impossible *”what if?”*. All the other conditional forms deal either with present truths or future ideas, plans and dreams of what may come. They are the ones that are still soft and malleable, ready to change on a dime as the present hurtles into the future. But the *Third*,  it stands alone and stony in the past, a constant reminder of all the stupid decisions you’ve made, every ripple of the butterfly effect shaping the puzzlebox hotch-potch that you are today. The *Third* is impossible in that, no matter the reason or motivation, you can never change what has gone before; all you can do is dream of what you would have done instead. *If + Past Perfect + would have + Past Participle* is the very structure of regret.

But base emotions like regret are just for mere humans. Impossible is nothing for a Time Lord. What might he possibly have to regret?

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Introducing…Great Moments Of The Generation

Console

Well, that’s it.

As of 12:01am this morning, as Microsoft released the Xbox One to counter Sony’s one-week PS4 lead in the new generation, our shiny home consoles that have been the source of much gaming pleasure over the last eight years officially became last-generation technology. It’s hard to predict just where the new consoles will take us (and probably we won’t really know for another year or so), but it’s a great time to reflect and take a look at what the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii added to our gaming lexicon.

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