El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron Review

   El Shaddai is easily the best platformer I have played since the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Master System, which is a game I honestly never thought would be equalled in the genre, let alone surpassed. I have of course enjoyed many platform games over the years since, but while many are and were brilliant, none of them have come close to matching Sonics first Master System outing. Until that is when I finally played El Shaddai, a platformer that didn’t equal it, but surpassed and smashed it. Yet I have found myself staring at the box for the best part of ten minutes before starting work on this review, just contemplating on how best to go about reviewing this game. I have never felt daunted at the thought of reviewing any game, or felt so lost on how to approach one, but I find myself in just such a position with this amazing title. Not because its bad, or because I don’t understand it, but because it has overwhelmed my expectations of it by breaking free from shackles of decades old tradition, undermining my tired notion of what a platformer should adhere to be, while leaving me unable to wrap my head around various parts of it and quantify the game into a neat tidy label at its spectacular conclusion.

   El Shaddai is a game inspired by religion, taking much of its inspiration and story from the Old Testament and The Book of Enoch in particular. It is inspired by all the great stories, myths, places and people found within, and you will see and hear this religious Judo Christian influence throughout the game as it is the makeup and binding force that makes the game what it is. Apart from its Jewish and Christian influence, you will also come across others in the mix as well, Buddhism and Hinduism for example, though not nearly as strong they are clearly there, in some chapters they are apparent in the visuals, in others the music, but they are woven in there and are rather more subtle. Don’t think of this game as one that wears its religious influence on its collar and tries to force some belief upon you as that’s not what this game is about. Think more of ancient history and some of the old myths and stories, as the developers take that Old Testament good story telling aesthetic and feel and make a game influenced from it, and an amazing job they have done to, as El Shaddai feels like an ancient story about God, Angels and Man, one that doesn’t feel at all out of place.

   The way in which the story is told and presented also does it in such a subtle way that follows the ancient astronauts theory that God and Angels are, or were, extra-terrestrials, aliens if you will, who came to Earth, created mankind, had a plan for their creations and influenced their development throughout history. Furthermore heaven and hell are different areas where they preside and Enoch’s (Enoch is the main protagonist in the game) weapons from God as well as other things are nothing more than alien technology that ancient man interprets as god-like instruments. This isn’t something that is openly suggested or put to the player in any way, its just a subtle thing that’s there that is open to interpretation by the player. Whether this was intentional by the developer or whether I’m just projecting my beliefs upon the game and its story I'm not entirely sure. But what’s cleaver is that the game in itself can be left to this kind of interpretation by the player, (perhaps because of the religious theme and story, and religion itself being open to many ways of interpretation itself,) and what one may see within it may be different to what someone else will interpret from it. Again whether this aspect of the game and its story was an intentional element or not is anyone’s guess, but it’s certainly a unique and interesting side to the game I haven’t come across before.

   The story goes that God has a purpose for Man, one that was put into place when he created mankind and placed them upon the Earth. God appointed his loyal angels, the Grigori to watch over mankind from Heaven, who over time had become besotted and captivated by the lives of man. They eventually descended from the Heavens and lived amongst man, influencing them and procreating with those they once watched over. The Fallen Angels corrupted man with sin, causing them to deviating from the plan God had laid out for them, creating a false path for man to follow. Angered by the Fallen Angels betrayal of God, the Council of Elders in Heaven decided that the only way forward was to wipe the Earth clean of man corrupted by evil and sin by creating a great flood upon the Earth. One man, a scribe named Enoch brought to Heaven by God, pleaded before the Council of Elders against flooding the Earth. They agreed to spare mankind on the condition that Enoch returned to Earth, find the Fallen Angels and bring them back to Heaven to face Gods judgment. So Enoch returned to Earth on his quest, guided by the Archangel Lucifel, he must find the Fallen Angels and cleanse man of their sin.

   El Shaddai is a 2D/3D hack-n-slash platformer, it seamlessly blends both 2D and 3D platforming elements together to such a degree the game has nailed the formula with its first go. In this game the transition between the two different perspectives has quite literally been worked to a fine art. One minute you will be in the 3D perspective, often with the viewpoint from an interesting angle, running, jumping and fighting enemies, then before you even realise it’s happened the perspective has stealthily transitioned into its 2D side on form. Its not always as subtle as this, there are of course parts that are all in one perspective or the other, but when the game transitions so seamlessly, it makes you wonder why it hasn’t become the norm in the genre already as it feels so naturally done.

   Each level is a varied mix of elements always changing as the game progresses, keeping things fresh and making sure the player can always expect the unexpected as far as level design goes. Some of the 2D parts are designed in such a way that they are superbly geared for speed runs, where a player is supposed to become so finely tuned into the level that they smoothly glide Enoch through it with ease. Other 2D parts are slower and perhaps a little more traditional in their makeup, these platforming parts are about being more careful and are certainly slower paced, having you fight enemies, avoid many of the pitfalls, lurking dangers and timing those all important jumps. The 3D parts can follow the same route, with levels designed for speed flow, with others about meticulous precision platforming and danger avoidance.

   The 3D parts however are where most of the games hack-n-slash fighting will occur, but rather than force the player to fight for every step en route, down narrow corridors and from one large area to the next, the fighting will take place in rounded type sections effortlessly blended into parts of the levels. You will quickly learn to identify these little areas dotted about each level, and upon entering them they become like small arenas, fenced off until you have defeated all of the spawning enemies or the end of level boss. Some players might not take to the way in which the developers have choose to implement the fighting in such a way like this, and I must admit it sounds more detached than it actually is, more so down to my inability to quite put this game into words than anything else. But believe me when I say that this really does work more in its practical implementation than it sounds, as El Shaddai is a game where all its sum parts seem to blend and flow together, fitting perfectly, and this particular area is no exception. You do of course face some enemies en route through the levels, but these are nothing more than fodder, they are there specifically to pose as an obstacle, to knock Enoch off his footing and into danger, nothing more nothing less, the real enemies lie in wait in the arena type areas.

   Combat is pretty simple, just as you would want it to be, with two buttons for two different types of attacks which when held down will make Enoch dispense more powerful variant attacks. Special attacks can be implemented by pressing RB and X, and later in the story a special overboost attack bestowed upon Enoch by the Archangel Uriel can be used when your boost level is full and by tapping LB and RB. Enemies can also be whipped up and attacked in the air and dealt multiple hits to wear them down, as well as being attacked on the ground by a hovering Enoch, allowing him to go on the offensive yet avoid any ground based attacks. There are no special powers as such in this game bar the overboost, and there are no over flirtatious and exuberant combo’s to endlessly string together that you find in other such games like Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, nor can you collect, assign, build or equip different powers and power-ups. As far as the hack-n-slash fighting element is concerned, El Shaddai takes things back to its core roots, keeping things simple, uncomplicated and minimalistic. But this does not suck the fun from the games veins, far from it in fact; the game is just as fun and challenging as any combo power-up driven game in this genre. Stripping the excess from this area has made the fighting in the game feel fresh as much as it is in keeping with the style and flow of the game, while also ensuring the fun and challenge remain intact.

   There is a blocking system in El Shaddai, but it’s tricky to implement and will take some time to master and pull off. Blocking is split into a two tear system, holding RB will block some attacks but not all depending on the enemy and how they attack you, and you will still take damage here, but not as much. Tapping RB just before an enemy strikes Enoch will repel their attack and leave your foe off guard and open to attack so timing is everything. The blocking system in this game is partly like the one implemented in the melee survival horror game Condemned released by Sega back in 2005. Condemned, (while in the first person perspective,) also relied on perfect timing to block enemy attacks that when successful would repel enemies and leave them off-guard. The only difference between the two games being that Condemned didn’t have a two tear blocking system like El Shaddai.

   As well as being able to throw punches and kicks when finding himself without a weapon on rare occasions, Enoch has access to three different weapons through most of the game, though he will start off with one and the other two will become available when the game progresses. The Arch, Gale and Veil are the only weapons in the game and the only ones Enoch can use, each one very different to the other, with each better suited to different situations and enemies than the other, and each assigned its own unique special attacks. The Arch is like a Klingon Bat’leth, yet sounds exactly like a Lightsaber and is swung about like its essentially a sword, it’s the go-to weapon of the game that I found myself using the most as it also has an air glide ability when Enoch jumps, which come in pretty handy for all the platforming elements of the game. The Gale is a long range weapon akin to the bow and arrow, circular in nature like Xena: Warrior Princesses Chakram weapon, but with tiny metallic bolts that circle Enoch which he is able to control and fire in any direction. Finally the Veil, a weapon that is made up of two shields, one on either hand that are both used to pound enemies into submission. This weapon is the most powerful of all three, allowing Enoch to deal the most damage, but its trade-off is that it’s slow and cumbersome, leaving Enoch more open and susceptible to being attacked.

   There are a variety of different enemies in the game, and as you progress further you will start to encounter more powerful and challenging enemy variants, but the three core types are ones that use Gods three weapons. You won’t encounter them all from the beginning of the game; they will appear in battles once you have reached a point where another of Gods weapons becomes available to Enoch as the Arch is the only one available to him at the start of the game. They also become more powerful and challenging throughout the course of the game, so an Arch wielding enemy of Sin might pose a challenge and become easily conquered at the start of the game when you are getting to grips with things, but a faster, more powerful and nimble Arch wielding enemy will take its place in another chapter, and the same can be said of the other enemies.

   The highlights of the fighting are the many different boss encounters you will face in the game, all of which are varied, different and always surprising. At first you will never know whether you are in a boss fight for real or not, or at times whether you’re facing a mid-chapter boss or end of chapter boss as they can pop up and challenge Enoch at random. These seemingly random challenges will make short work of Enoch before transporting him back into a level, and serve as an element to keep you always second guessing which encounter will be the actual proper fight. As always in these kind of games, you can expect variety in the boss designs, the weird and wonderful, with multiple stages of attacks and attack patterns to learn and overcome, with each harder and more difficult than the last. My favourite boss encounter has to be Armaros, as it was not like any boss fight I have encountered before, with the seamless transition between cut-scene and gameplay, Armaros dancing in the foreground up against the TV screen as though he was dancing for a camera, and having Enoch fight dancing enemies in the background. To say this boss encounter was different and surreal is an understatement, and although Armaros might not have been the most spectacular and all conquering boss fight in El Shaddai, or in gaming history for that matter, it was surly the most memorable and stylish to ever be conceived.

   With all that said and done there are but only a few things about El Shaddai that I found to be amiss, nothing major or significantly game changing, just a few very small things, as the game is pretty much as polished as you could hope for in a game on todays current systems. You can either play the game with Japanese voice acting with English subtitles (much better and preferable to dub in my opinion,) or English voice acting and turn subtitles off, or set them to Japanese. The problem with the English voice acting doesn’t rest with the acting itself, as the voice work in the game is superbly done, but lies with the lip-sync, as is common with dub, it can be out of sync and noticeable. This shouldn’t be a problem in games really as the lips for in game characters and cut-scenes can easily be synced to the voice, but in El Shaddai it hasn’t been done, at least not in a way it should be done with a game, but more like English dub you will find in movies. It’s not all that bad, but it is noticeable in the cut-scenes, you wont notice it in the game though as the camera is to far away from the characters.

   The only other complaint is that when you get caught in an enemy attack, or stringed attack, it’s almost if nigh on impossible to break free. Once enemies get hold of Enoch and whip him up into their attack patterns, then he is essentially locked in for the duration until it’s over, so no matter how you try and break free, you just have to accept the punishment and wait until it’s over. More than anything else this is just frustrating; it’s not a bad mechanic, its just punishment for not successfully blocking in the first place or dodging an enemy move.

   The game didn’t leave me furrow browed, more like slack jawed, I appreciated every minute of it, yet was left with my head wrapped within its meandering story and gameplay. You don’t play El Shaddai, as it’s not a game to be played; you experience it, as it’s a rare gaming experience that doesn’t come around too often. El Shaddai is a game to be seized upon if given the chance to play it, as it’s not often a game ebbs and flows so serenely, yet will always keep you second guessing every twist and turn of your journey through it. El Shaddai extends its hand to you, offering a journey and an experience, where story and gameplay are inseparable and intertwined, one indistinguishable from one another. If you have reached that point where you truly crave a unique gaming experience set within this familiar of all genres, which is not constrained by its formulaic tradition and rules, then you may want to extend your hand to.

   I’m hoping that if anything I have at least peaked your interest in El Shaddai, enough to make you want to give it a go, as I could have wrote at length about the graphics, but I think the screenshots will speak for themselves, so let’s just say the visuals are quite breathtakingly beautiful. I have tried my best to put into words as much as I could and give you, the reader, a simple understanding of what to expect from the basic makeup of this great game, but El Shaddai can’t be fully explained. Its like that one thing that’s always on the tip of your brain, but you can never fully grasp and pin down into words; it’s always just out of reach, which is why it can only be fully understood by experiencing it for yourself.

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Nintendo 3DS XL First Impressions

   I’m not going to bore you by listing of the specific spec’s of the 3DS XL as they are well known by now and anyone wanting to know these just needs to use a search engine, but I thought as I have recently bought the system I would do an overview and give my initial impressions of it.

   The system comes packaged in a small unassuming box with less fanfare splashed across it than a supermarkets own brand of cheap biscuits, and I was surprised that it didn’t have better design work on it to be honest, but then its what’s inside that really counts. Included in the box with the system is a 4GB SDHC memory card which comes installed in the SD card slot and a pack of AR cards to use with the AR Games software on the system. There were two things however that immediately struck me before I even opened the box. Firstly the notice that the 3DS XL does not come packaged with an AC adapter to power and charge it, as these are sold separately. I have to say this is poor form on Nintendo’s part and is a small blight on what is an amazing system as it should come packaged with a power supply no arguments about it.

   When I was initially looking at buying the system I wasn’t sure if my DS or DSi XL charger would work with it, and its fortunate that I already owned these systems and had chargers for them as I discovered later on that my DS Lite charger should work with the 3DS XL. But at the outset it looked to me as if I would have to spend £169 on the system, plus another £20 for Nintendo’s official cradle and charger kit in one shop I happened to look in, plus extra for any games on top of that. So what initially looked to be a very competitive price point next to Sony’s PS Vita actually turned out to be less competitive than I first thought, even after shopping around a bit, though the PS Vita was always priced higher no matter where I looked, the price gap didn’t seem that huge after all. It was lucky I heard via the grapevine that DS chargers would work with the 3DS XL, though I wasn’t one hundred per cent sure, so I just bought the system and tried my luck. But if I didn’t own a DS/DSi XL, the added cost of a charger, even a cheap third party one would have put me off buying a 3DS XL, as the thought of forking out for a new games system that doesn’t come bundled with a mains AC charger as standard, like it should do, is a hard concept to fathom let alone stomach.

   Next thing that struck me was the information notice on the back about the systems backwards compatibility; it is backwards compatible with DS and DSi software but not GBA (Game Boy Advance) games. Also if like me you own DS imports, then it warns that some imports may not work on the 3DS so don’t get rid of those DS/DSi systems just yet. I tested Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor and Sands of Destruction, both NTSC American games, and both worked no problem. I did have a small problem playing the DS version of Lego Lord of the Rings on the 3DS XL though, as I reached the end of one section the game went to auto save and then froze up. I thought I had lost my progress up until that point as I had to reboot the system, but turns out it did save my progress even though it locked up, so again, I wouldn’t go discarding your DS/DSi just yet as the backwards compatibility might not be perfect for all DS games.

   With all that said and done it’s on to the system itself. The 3DS XL is a really well made high quality handheld gaming device, its not cheap at £169, but rest assured the end result is that its made to a high standard and looks the part rather than feeling cheap and tacky. At the top of the console there are the left and right shoulder buttons, the game card slot, mains adaptor socket and an infrared transceiver bar. On the XL’s left side, just below the left shoulder button is the volume slider, which is a really curious and silly place to put it as on many occasions now i have accidently moved the volume slider while playing a game, and I’m sure I'm not alone in this, it stands to reason that it would have been far better located next to the headphones jack at the bottom left of the console. On the right of the XL is the stylus holder, SD card slot, wireless on/off slider, and at the top outer surface of the clamshell are two (outer) cameras allowing for the capture of 2D/3D photos and videos.

   The two screens on the 3DS XL are not that much different from the ones on the DSi XL, better resolution and more pixels aside of course. The bottom screen is the same size as the DSi XL’s, the top is the same height but width wise is about 2cm longer, so while the DSi XL has two big screens of equal proportions, the 3DS XL only has a wider top screen. I like the fact that the top screen is wider, and although the bottom one is still pretty big in itself as well as being centrally aligned with the above screen, I do personally feel that both on the 3DS console should have been made the same width as each other, preferably that of the wider top screen, as this wouldn’t make the system all that much bigger. The clarity and crispness of both screens however are pin sharp and both deliver much more of a visual punch on everything from the home menu, games, through to video. The top screen is the main viewing screen, all videos will be viewed on it and games will utilise it as standard while the bottom one is used for secondary usage such as options, maps and other stuff. The only things I have found with this system, and this is something I found with the DSi XL as well, is that the screens have a glossy reflective surface, more so with the 3DS XL and this can cause some to get eyestrain much in the same vein as staring at a very reflective glossy computer monitor. The touchscreen will also become very scratched over time as well as becoming plastered in fingerprints, so it’s best to buy a screen protector as soon as possible.

   While on the subject of the 3DS XL screens I guess this is a perfect time to talk about the 3D feature incorporated into the system, something of which was used as a big selling point by Nintendo when the original system first launched. The bottom screen is just a bog standard touchscreen and does not have 3D implemented on it, only the top screen with the 3D adjustment slider next to it delivers the 3D feature. There are some things I would like to make the readers mindful of about the 3D feature. Firstly the 3D can and should be calibrated by using the calibration option in the settings menu; this will help adjust the 3D to a comfortable level that makes it work properly for you. As you calibrate the 3D you will adjust the 3D slider to increase or decrease the strength of the 3D, but this can still be done afterwards during gameplay if you find the strength or depth not to you liking. Lastly the 3DS XL as well as the 3DS for that matter comes with a warning that vision damage may be caused to children using the 3D feature on the system aged six and under, and therefor Nintendo recommends that only children aged over the age of six should use this feature. They also recommend locking this feature out using the parental controls which is a good idea. Once done every video, game and application will ask the user if they want to start it in 2D or 3D, if 3D is selected it will be locked out and a pin code will have to be entered that was set up within parental controls, so in short only a 2D experience will be available.

   This part is purely my opinion of course and my experience of the 3D feature on the system and I’m fully aware as I’m sure a lot of people are that 3D works differently for everyone, as it works for some better than others. I have tried the 3D feature, on the XL and the normal 3DS, and I have tried using it on different types of games as well as using the calibration option and adjusting the 3D slider to various strengths, and for me personally it just doesn’t work. That’s not to say the 3D doesn’t work, it just doesn’t work for me personally. For me the whole 3D thing is and has always been very much a non starter, whether it be 3D films or 3D games, glasses or non silly looking glasses, it just doesn’t work on me as all I get to see is a double blurry image. I have never been fussed about it either as I would much rather see a big push towards holograms and holographic technology as I find it much more of an interesting area of technology not yet fully explored. But I suspect 3D doesn’t work for me however because of two things, one being the fact I am short sighted and wear glasses, the other is that my eyesight is better in one eye than the other. These things are the likely causes why 3D does not work for me, and viewing any kind of 3D media gives me headaches and makes me feel cross-eyed in the extreme, but I have to say I’m not bothered by this fact, nor do I feel like I am missing out by not using the 3D feature. The main selling point of the 3DS is its increased power and graphical capability’s that allows for bigger more expansive and better looking games. The 3D element to the portable console is a cool additional feature that users can make use of, but is in no way part and parcel of the system that has to be used, and is certainly not the main selling point of the 3DS itself, so for me it will remain permanently switched off. 

   The system comes with some pre-installed software to get your hand on, none of which are particularly anything breath-taking, but a nice surprise all the same. The two main games are Face Raiders and AR Games, while the other free software titles are Nintendo Letter Box, Mii Maker, Mii Plaza, Nintendo 3DS Camera, Nintendo 3DS Sound. I also got Super Mario 3D Land for free via a download code via the Nintendo eShop, which I promptly downloaded to the SD Card. I’m not entirely sure whether this is a limited time offer or not, but I was only able to use the download code between the beginning and end of January, outside of this timeframe I would loose the chance of a free game so I didn’t hang about. If it wasn’t for deciding to register the XL with Club Nintendo to see what all that was about I honestly wouldn’t have known about the free game offer, and I only decided to check out Club Nintendo on a whim. To get your free game you have to register your 3DS XL and complete a survey, and then you will be given the option of choosing a game out of a selection of five, Professor Layton and Mario being the most notable of the games on offer. There was absolutely no advertising in the supermarket where I bought my 3DS XL about the free game offer, and I was not told about it by the cashier upon purchase of the system, that’s if he even knew about the offer which I highly doubt. There is also no mention of this offer on the box or in the manual, so I could have completely missed out on this entirely. It would surly be in Nintendo’s best interest to advertise this offer or any other future offer quite vigorously, on the system box, and at point of sale as this would encourage sales if anything, especially over holiday periods, but as it stands customers like myself have been left to stumble across this particular offer for themselves.

   At the moment I only have two games for the system, Super Mario 3D Land and Rayman Origins, but I have downloaded the Resident Evil: Revelations and Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion demos. All demos are limited to a set amount of playthroughs so once your allocation is up for a certain game, then that’s your lot. I cant say what Rayman is like because I haven’t got around to playing it yet, but I have at least tried the first bunch of levels in Super Mario 3D Land, and I have to say that making the games levels truly 3D as opposed to traditional side-scrolling 2D platformer has made the game seem so much more interesting to play as well as making it highly addictive to. Graphics wise there is not much to shout about with Mario and Rayman other than they both look really great, same for Epic Mickey really, which was a game that had such a slow start to it I might add. But Resident Evil: Revelations at least gave me a snapshot of just what to expect out of the 3DS graphics and power wise, and I have to say I was very impressed by just how detailed and pin sharp everything looked. The graphics seemed to me on a par with later PS2 or equivalent, and I was more than pleased as its amazing just how graphically advanced handheld gaming systems such as the 3DS have become these days. The system still has a long life ahead of it so anyone wishing to get one can expect some real treats in the very immediate future. 

   I wanted a 3DS since its release, but not for the 3D feature, but for it being a more powerful system that would have bigger and better games on it, the 3D for me was never a real selling hook that would draw me in, and it shouldn’t be for anyone else. The 3D feature is a nice addition, but that’s all it is, an additional feature, the real draw of the system should be the bigger, better looking games the system will accumulate. The lack of a second analog stick (well its actually an analog slider, or circle pad as Nintendo call it) has been quite a contentious issue for the system since its initial release, and I’ll admit that I to have always thought Nintendo missed a trick and messed up by not adding another to the system. But to be honest, now I have played on one and a bunch of its games, I now think that it’s not really needed, as the 3DS was never to be a system for developers and publishers to clog its library up with FPS games. A second circle pad is not needed, and I can say this after playing on one, and it’s only through playing games on the system will you realise this. Take Resident Evil: Revelations as a perfect example, as some would have you believe its better with the second circle pad peripheral and is a must for the game, but this simply isn’t the case, playing with one circle pad is perfectly fine, perhaps even better as its like the tank controls of the first classic RE game of old.

   I was over the moon when Nintendo released the 3DS XL with its bigger screens as this was a revision I was waiting for, and I'm very pleased with the system overall, and at the moment there has never been a better time to pick one up as it has a lot going for it. There are a few niggles here and there, but certainly no show stoppers. The lack of a charger included with the system is a poor decision as is the lack of promotional advertising making potential customers aware of the free game download. The growth of the 3DS library of games is growing, albeit very slowly, and the release line up seems to be very quiet at the moment, but it should now pick up a bit of pace with the release of the Wii U. Its sad but a true fact that the 3DS library offers more variety and has far more games as well as looking far healthier at the moment than Sony’s PS Vita, good for 3DS owners, not so for PS Vita owners. Hopefully Sony will turn things around soon instead of releasing the system and then letting it die on its arse, but only time will tell.

   It’s a perfect time to get a 3DS or 3DS XL when all is said and done, the future looks bright for the system even with the onslaught of the smartphone gaming market, as some like me still prefer a gaming device to be just that rather than a do everything machine, and the 3DS XL is one hell of a handheld gaming device.

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Old Computers Won't Last Forever

   When I first started looking into buying an Amiga, I found that there were plenty of different models to choose from, and so I had to do a fair bit of research at the time about each model and reading up on the history of Commodore and the Amiga range of computers, all of which was fascinating and made me hunger more for one of these old machines.

   Then, as if waking from an amnesia type brain freeze, I remembered that I already had one, an A2000 sitting in the shed, along with a tone of software. Damn my ineptitude and complete lack of foresight! Trust me to store a great computer in a damp, dusty, cobweb filled shed instead of storing it somewhere proper and safe from the environmental effects that could kill an electrical device off faster than the main man Chuck Norris. It wasn’t a machine I had in my youth, nor one that me or my parents bought at the time it was on the market, but it’s a system I acquired and messed about with until I ran out of space to store it. Yet I wasn’t into retro gaming at the time, and I knew little if anything about the Amiga or its significance, so in the shed it went.

   Of course I was kicking myself when I rescued it from the damp shed, as I was becoming strongly entrenched in retro gaming, and enjoying plenty of games and systems from my youth, and having a blast on old games as well as the latest and greatest a modern system could offer. But would it still work though, that was the question, would the A2000 still fire up after all these years in the shed? After taking the cover off and inspecting the insides, everything looked ok, the ribbons connecting all the drives looked a little worse for ware, but everything else seemed ok. Lucky for me it fired up, and after turning it on and off more times than I care to remember the hdd eventually kicked in and Workbench appeared, as you can imagine, I was relieved, more so than a vegetarian being told that what they were eating was in fact quorn balls and not hairy cows bollocks dipped in gravy.

   Though the A2000 still worked and Workbench fired up, the machine had still taken a hit: the floppy drives had bit the dust, they damaged one floppy disk then didn’t want to work, and the ribbons looked in a state of serious decay. So even though the system still lived on, it needed some serious TLC, something of which it wouldn’t need if I had looked after it properly in the first place.

   Well 4 years later and I’m still in the process of doing my Amga 2000 up, I got as far as replacing the two floppy drives and a drive ribbon, but that’s about it, but now, with the system in a permanent place under my TV, I’m ready to start refurbishing the system again. Late last year I did strip the system down, and clean the whole thing from top to bottom, all boards, the case, connections, everything. I was even pleased to find that the clock battery had not leaked onto the main board (something which I thought had happened,) and so on the advise of others, I de-soldered it from the main board as the big box Amiga’s suffer from clock battery leakage, and this has the potential to kill the system.

   One unforeseen side effect though was that when removing the main board from the system, which was a complete pain, and in hindsight was a two man job, some of the legs on the second mouse port snapped away from the board. It was far to awkward to re-solder them back on as there were other components in the way, so I wouldn’t have been able to get to the legs in question, so after careful thought, I decided to remove joystick port 2 completely. The plan was to solder wires from the main board to the corresponding legs, this I managed to do, but it was a sloppy job and the wires eventually came loose. So recently I tackled the problem again, but this time I bought a D-Sub9 connector and some soldering flux and it worked a treat. I re-soldered wires back onto the main boards D-Sub9 joystick port 2 connections, planned the route around the board I wanted the wires to take and used insulator tape to stick them down so they wouldn’t move, then soldered the wires onto the D-Sub9 and popped that into a back port plate. So now I plug a controller into the back of the A2000 where port 2 is newly located.

   I basically did what I had to do to save joystick port 2 and get it working, as many Amiga games take advantage of controllers and joysticks, but through the second port, and so if that’s out of action, it’ll make it very awkward to play many games. Upon looking at it it’s a bit of a ‘what in the Frankenstein’s monster!?’ But my A2000 isn’t getting any younger and over time things break, so I have done what I needed to do to keep the machine going, it’s not the best solution, but it works, that’s the important thing.

   As time marches on and we all continue to use these ageing machines way past their intended usage, its inevitable that things will break or stop working and repairs will have to be carried out. Some will be repairable, others won’t, it’s just the way things go, and over time it’s a fact that old computers and consoles will become rarer and more uncommon as the years tick by. Yes even all the abundant sun faded turd brown Super Nintendo’s you can find for sale online will one day become a wild and not too often seen item, more ripe chance for asshole sellers on eBay to charge through-the-arse prices on the auction site no doubt. I already own two A1200 because one has a dodgy expansion port and the other stopped outputting sound at one point, and add to that a cassette player for the Spectrum that’s now just dead electronic weight. It’s amazing that a lot of these computers and consoles are still going and we can only do our best to preserve them while actively using them, so it’s sad to think that one day, if these machines don’t re-enter production somehow somewhere in the future, that emulation will be the only real way to experience them, food for thought.

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Dreamcast Analog Stick Mod Guide

   This is a mod for the Dreamcast analog stick that I think is a must. Have you ever been in the thick of the action on Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Sega Rally 2, Soul Calibur, or possibly running around Dobuita in Shenmue and found your thumb slipping off the nub constantly? Well I have, and at times it can be quite annoying to be honest. As much as I love the design and layout of the Dreamcast controller, it’s the convex design of the analog nub, coupled with the fact that Sega choose to use plastic instead of rubber that causes ones thumb to always slip from its grip at the worst possible time. They did add small dimples or dots of plastic to help your thumb grip, but it really doesn’t help much, a rubber nub is what’s needed for maximum comfort and grip. So here is a mod that might be small in nature, but adds so much to the overall Dreamcast experience, enjoy Sega fans!

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AverMedia Game Capture HD

   If there was one thing that always bothered me about capturing screenshots and video footage of games from various different consoles and computers, it was just the sheer inconvenience of it all. With the need for screenshots and video footage of a particular game very much a necessity, I was always forced to laboriously disconnect a certain console or computer from its life support and haul it from its favoured spot to the floor beneath the aging behemoth that is my desktop PC. I would then have to connect it to the machine via EzCAP (yes it really is spelt that way!?) and use Windows Movie Maker (WMM) to capture the incoming video signal from whatever games machine I was playing on. This was all very laborious and inconvenient, not to mention time consuming in the extreme, complicated more by the fact that WMM would only let me view the video signal being captured in the smallest of windows (the size of which was unchangeable.) I also only had one double plug socket at my disposal which was already being used by the PC, which meant using an extension cable. Once I was done, I had the happy job of putting everything away afterwards, only to repeat the whole process a day or two later.

   Something clearly had to be done, something had to give way eventually, and I could only hope that there was a much simpler way of capturing video footage and screenshots from all my consoles and computers with minimal amount of hassle. The biggest part of this for me was cutting out the need to use a PC entirely from the equation altogether, and I was sure that a quick search of Amazon would bring up a myriad of different devices for me to choose from. But sadly I couldn’t have been more wrong.

   At the time there was only one standalone box on the market that didn’t require a PC to operate, and furthermore was specifically aimed at those who wanted to capture video from games consoles. I was disappointed at the complete lack of choice, and I found it rather perplexing that all the other manufacturers who had various capturing devices in the same marketplace all deemed it necessary to require a PC to function with their products. But therein lies the problem for me, all the other products are essentially dedicated external video cards, they are powerful which goes without saying, but they are just the hardware component. The software side of things, where you initiate the recording, processing and furthermore the storage of the video/picture files happens on the PC end, so a PC is always needed in the equation. What I wanted was an all-in-one external capturing device that was the capturing card, storage and software all under one hood that was totally independent of a PC and a self contained unit. I found what I was looking for in the AverMedia Game Capture HD; it was exactly the all-in-one box I wanted, though it wasn’t without a few small drawbacks.

   The Game Capture HD is small and compact for what it is; it’s an unobtrusive box that can be easily found a place between your favourite consoles, as it’s almost half the height of a GameCube and only a few centimetres bigger width wise. It essentially acts as a pass through box by which the video output of a console is connected to the unit via a component lead, with the output from the box connected to a TV via component cable as well. The video signal from the console passes through the Game Capture HD where it can be recorded and stored on its way to the TV, but best of all, and most importantly, there are absolutely no lag or latency issues while you play, and no impact to the video quality (depending on which mode the box is set to.)

   The Game Capture HD has a compartment underneath it to fit a 2.5” SATA hard drive, which you can add one anywhere up to 500GB in size (500GB recommended by AverMedia,) or the unit has one USB port on the front if you wish to use an external USB storage device. Be warned though, like any media unit, if you do decide to fit a hdd internally, or use non-flash USB storage externally, then it is recommended that you use one that runs as fast as possible, preferably 7200rpm or above.

   The unit has two buttons on the front, a power button and a record button, which you can be used instead of the remote. The remote, like the unit, is small and compact, but is essential as it is used not only to initiate the unit and record function, but to set the video and picture (screenshot) quality (of which there are three different levels of quality and compression to choose from,) but to also jump between a full and minimal functionality mode. Full functionality mode gives you access to all the menu and preview options while you are playing a game, so you can play back what you have just recorded, or mess with the quality and compression options. The only downside to this is that full functionality does impact slightly on the video quality you see on the TV, but only by a barely noticeable degree, and only on the real-time TV image, this does not impact on the quality of the video being recorded. Minimal functionality has no impact on the TV image and gives you a flawless picture while you’re playing a game, but the menu and video/picture playback options are not available, you are only able to use the record and stop function.

   The quality of the screenshots and Video that the Game Capture HD records really speaks for itself, on the best quality settings this device records and captures some very high quality video and pictures. I have never had any complaints about the quality of any video I have recorded, and I have had nothing but a flawless user experience with this box. There are several drawbacks to the Game Capture HD however that are worth taking into consideration when buying one though, they are not show stoppers by any means, but rather features that would only have complemented the device and make it a more complete Game Capturing all-in-one box.

   First off then, as you might have spotted already, this is a HD video capture box, so it naturally captures video in HD quality. The initial firmware out of the box (firmware version 1.5) will capture video in AVI, but as of the latest firmware update (firmware version 2.0.6) it now captures video in MP4. I have tested the quality of both video types from both firmware versions and they are fantastic of course, and now that the system captures video in MP4 as of the latest update the video is more compatible and friendly with video editing software and other media playing devices.

  The downside is that as a HD capturing device it only accepts component HD video input, so in other words it only captures video from the current generation of consoles (Xbox360/PS3/Wii,) or at least anything through a component lead as low as 480i all the way up to 1080i at 50/60hz. The Game Capture HD can also capture video from an Original Xbox if you have one, as when used with a component lead and its HD video output enabled, games will run at 480p and the odd few at 720p. The Game Capture HD does not have a composite input so you’re really out of luck for older systems, which is a real shame for anyone like me that has a variety of different systems and computers from various decades past. Not being able to capture composite video signals is somewhat of a disappointment and a missed opportunity by AverMedia to make this box the all-in-one video capture box that any gamer could ever need. It also means anyone whishing to capture composite video from older systems will need to look elsewhere, and annoyingly find a place for another device.

   Another drawback that I have come across is that this particular box only accepts component, furthermore it only allows for one component input at a time. This is also another missed opportunity, AverMedia could have at least allowed for a HDMI input at the very least, which would allow for more than one console to be hooked up at any given time, albeit by different input cable types. Or they could have offered two HDMI inputs and a component as is the standard on most HD devices these days. But truth is there was a lot more they could have done really and as it stands, this oversight or lack of foresight makes for a lot of unnecessary cable swapping that could have been avoided.

   Another feature that the Game Capture HD lacks is the ability to adjust the brightness and contrast of the video being recorded, and although it’s nothing major, it should really have been a standard feature in the box’s settings. While the box does record a crisp image that quality wise is great, the video and the screenshots do turn out to be pretty dark compared to the image being viewed on the TV. Whether AverMedia never thought to add brightness and contrast settings, or whether they thought the user could adjust these in game or even on the console end, who the hell knows? But the fact remains that the video does turn out way too dark, and this is another thing that could have easily been addressed, and it could still be addressed in a future firmware update. The only way at the moment to remedy this is to post process the video or screenshots via video editing software for the former (or Youtube if you plan on uploading) and something like Paint.NET for the latter, all of which will fix the brightness issues and make the image as it should be.

Otagi - Xbox - Post render using Paint.NET

Otagi - Xbox - Original Screenshot pre-render

   It’s a shame that the Game Capture HD has the small issues that it has, if AverMedia could only have gone that extra mile, it would make all other capturing devices on the market worthless, it really could have been the all conquering solution. But having said that using this all-in-one video capture box is a far better solution to capturing current gen gaming footage in my opinion, as there is nothing worse than having the major headache of setting up your console next to the PC just to capture some video. What the Game Capture HD is in essence is pure convenience as opposed to other devices that require a PC, which are quite honestly the total opposite. The Game Capture HD is definitely worth purchasing even with its small faults, and I am certainly happier and better off using it over the cumbersome irritation of other devices period.

Otagi - Xbox - Original Screenshot pre-render

Otagi - Xbox - Post render using Paint.NET

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What’s In the Box? Real Sound: Kaze No Regret

    Real Sound: Kaze No Regret is a Japanese game made for blind people, so there are no visuals to speak of as the game is made entirely around sound, kind of like an interactive audiobook. Made by WARP, the creators of D no Shokutaku and EO (Enemy Zero,) this is without a doubt the most unique and interesting game on the Sega Saturn. WARP were known for using sound as an important mechanic in some of their games, so Real Sound seems like a natural fit for the developer, and they also have the honour of being the first developer to create one of the first ever games to be made for blind people which is still highly sort after in Japan to this day.

   Kenji Eno, WARPs founder and director decided to make Real Sound after visiting visually impaired fans who had wrote to him about his games. Curious as to how they were able to experience playing video games, Kenji went to visit them and see for himself first hand how they were able to experience and enjoy games. This inspired Kenji to make the game specifically for blind people, where the game was based around sound and would give them the same experience as those who weren’t blind. The game was a Sega Saturn exclusive and did receive a re-release on the Dreamcast with some visuals, but the game was essentially the same, and still one to be played by listening to the audio.

   I wish I could tell you what the game is about, but I can’t, as to play the game requires an understanding of Japanese, which sadly I do not possess. But what I can say is that if you are studying Japanese, and are at an intermediate to advanced stage of your learning of the language, then this game is the perfect study aid. Most Japanese adventure games are a perfect way of helping you learn and further your studies of Japanese, but none will ‘test your metal’ as to just how much you have learned as Real Sound will, as without any visuals to help you interpret what you don’t understand, you have nothing to go on other than the audio itself.

   Real Sound comes in a double Saturn case as the game is spread across four disks, and comes in a plastic slip case, which has clouds pictured on it, with the all important collectors spine card cased within it. The game has an accompanying braille manual, a post card, and numerous other cards that have Japanese on one side and pictures of cloud skylines on the other. What really makes the game unusual from a collecting standpoint is that it comes with a packet of herb seeds, that’s herbs as in the traditional garden or ‘kitchen’ herb, and not the cannabis variety. I have tried in the past to find out what herb the seeds are, but haven’t been able to find anything out, and although I know I could just plant them and find out, I’d rather not open the packet and plant them as this would make the game incomplete from a collectors standpoint. Some might find this a really unusual thing to pack in with a game as an extra, and it is, but for WARP its rather tame as a previous game, Short Warp, came packaged with a condom amongst other things, so in light of this, its not that outlandish.

Real Sound: Kaze No Regret - Sega Saturn

4 disks

Outer plastic sleeve

Spine card

Braille manual

Post Card

8 Cards

Packet of herb seeds

Herb Seeds Front

Herb Seeds Back

Braille manual

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